


The Magnificent Series

by Huffledork



Series: HuffleVerse Ego Stories [1]
Category: Jacksepticeye Power Hour (Web Series), natewantstobattle
Genre: Angst, Injury, Magnificent series, Mind Control, Nathan Sharp Egos, Swearing, Whump, posession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28559646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huffledork/pseuds/Huffledork
Summary: Marvin the Magnificent is no more, now, there is only Magnificent.Marvin the Magnificent didn't just become a well off magician/superhero sidekick overnight. He had help from his fellow egos... and a certain dealmaker known for screwing over young magicians. A mistake from his past comes back to haunt him when Marvin encounters Phantom threatening Jackieboy unless Marvin hands him over his soul, which was rightfully his this whole time. Now, deprived of his soul and magic, Marvin becomes Magnificent, an agent of Phantom using his power to get the con-man more deals. Can Jackieboy and the other septic egos save Marvin before it's too late? And what will happen when the tables turn, and the other egos lose themselves to the mischievous red demon? Can Marvin convince the infamous Antisepticeye to help him save his friends?
Series: HuffleVerse Ego Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2092623
Kudos: 7





	1. Phantom Collects

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This fic (and this first chapter specifically) was inspired by ReverseBlackholeofWords on tumblr back in back in 2018. This is my first major fanfic from way back when and I'm finally uploading it here instead of on my tumblr! It's a bit old and dated- this came out right after Phantom was released. It also has a sequel which is still a WIP but luckily this one is all finished! Hope you all enjoy and look forward to more works from me!

“Hm,” a thoughtful hum came from the well-dressed man as he tossed his cane from one hand to another, “So that would-be magician managed to make another name for himself.” The man eyed the crystal ball atop his cane, smirking slightly at the twisted faces that shifted and swirled inside its depths. “And with that so-called 'hero' too…” He chuckled and rose, twirling the cane expertly before driving it to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Well, Marvin the Magnificent… I believe it’s time to fully collect what you owe me.”

\--------

Marvin jogged through the semi-crowded streets of Brighton, his white cat mask bouncing bright above the heads of those he passed. It was drizzling and the bright lights of the shops around reflected in dazzling spots of color through the puddles on the ground. Marvin was rushing towards a tiny semi-abandoned shop downtown that he and Jackie had claimed as their hideout. You know, for hero work. Marvin still giggled slightly at that fact. So much had changed about him because of Jackie.

A grin spread across the cat masked man’s face as he neared the building he sought. Jackie was gonna love the lead he found for their next big adventure. Marvin quickly sped up the stairs and busted open the door to their hideout with nary a care, shouting down the hall, “Jackie!! You’re never gonna believe the treat I have for you-“

“Well hello Marvin,” spoke a stranger as he sat leisurely in a chair beside a tied-up and beaten Jackie. Jackie fought against his bonds and tried to speak to Marvin through the gag on his mouth. Marvin dropped the things he was holding to the ground as shock overtook his face.

“P-Phantom…”

“Ah, so you do remember me!” Phantom grinned and kicked up his feet to rest on Jackie’s lap like he was some kind of footstool. “I was beginning to think your friend here made you forget,” Jackie growled low on his throat and tried to shove the con man off of him but Phantom swiftly sent a hard kick to the hero’s face, spraying blood from his nose across the dusty floor.

“No!” Marvin yelled, moving forward, “Don’t hurt him!” Marvin's eyes flashed blue as the magic inside him built up, ready to send Phantom flying with a flick of his hand. But Phantom simply tutted and spun his cane, eventually pointing the crystal ball Marvin’s way.

“Uh-uh-uh Kid. You best remember who gave you those powers, to begin with.” Marvin deflated, dropping his hand and biting his lip.

Jackie, whose gag came loose from the kick, spit blood out of his mouth and croaked, “Don’t listen Marvin. You don’t belong to him! You made your magic your own!” Phantom snarled and jabbed his cane hard into Jackie’s chest, leaving the hero heaving and retching.

Marvin felt his chest tighten and the next thing he knew he was throwing Phantom against the wall in a wave of blue-green magic.

“I-I beat you once Phantom!” Marvin stammered, summoning up all his courage, “Don’t think I can’t do it again!”

Phantom started laughing as he rose from the ground, a cruel laugh that slowly got louder. “Is that what you think? That you 'beat”' me?!” He chuckled once more before settling an icy glare at Marvin, his voice growing deep and eerie, “You used what didn’t belong to you to escape me. You’re nothing more than a thief and a coward, building off a power that was never fully yours.”

But, Phantom didn’t realize as he threatened the magician, Marvin was discreetly using his powers to cut through Jackie’s bonds. Marvin put up a terrified act to keep Phantom’s attention and as Phantom marched towards Marvin, crystal ball ready, Jackie barreled into him with a loud war cry.

“What the hell-?!” Growled Phantom as Jackie pinned him to the ground. The hero reeled back and drove punch after punch into Phantom’s face, a crazy fire in his eyes. Phantom coughed and spit before jamming his cane into Jackie’s belly and sending him flying back in a flash of sparks.

Jackie cried as he flew through the air and tried to land on his feet. But exhaustion caused his knees to buckle and he tumbled to a kneeling position on the ground, struggling to catch his breath.

Marvin quickly rushed Phantom from behind, grabbing his hair and yanking back. He sent a bolt of electricity right to the side of Phantom’s face and let go so the con man crashed to the floor, spasming for a second.

“Ha… figured out more than a couple of parlor tricks, huh?” Phantom coughed, an eerie grin spreading across his face. Marvin glowered and brought down a foot onto Phantom’s chest and dug in, causing the demon to bite back a groan of pain.

“You don’t know what I’m capable of now,” Marvin bit back, “You don’t have power over me anymore Phantom!”

“Oh?”

Phantom grinned a wide toothy grin that lingered for a second like a Cheshire Cat as his body dissolved into black red smoke. Marvin exclaimed, looking around as fast as he could.

Phantom’s voice echoed for a moment, “I have all the power I need over you, little magician.” Suddenly he appeared behind Jackie and pulled the green-haired hero upwards by his hood and stuck the end of his cane under his neck. A wicked-looking black blade shot from the bottom and Phantom pressed the blade into the skin, a red line quickly appearing.

“Return what belongs to me, Marvin the Magnificent! Or watch as Jackieboy man falls victim for your sins.” Phantom chuckled darkly as he pressed the blade further, Jackie’s eyes widening in fear.

“NO!” Marvin screamed, spurring forward arms outstretched. He stopped and let his hands drop, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Fine…” He nearly whispered, “T-take…Take me. You win.”

“Marvin, don’t!” Jackie cried, blinking tears out of his eyes too. Phantom nodded and took the blade away, spinning the cane once more so the crystal ball faced Marvin.

Marvin closed his eyes as he felt the ball pull him and his power into it. When he next opened them, he was looking at the world through the tinted distorted glass. He sobbed and let himself drop, his face covered in his hands.

Phantom smiled and gently stroked the ball. “Ah, Marvin. Finally where you belong.” He laughed cruelly and regripped his cane. But he heard the sound of shuffling feet behind him and he shoved the still spiked end of his cane backward, sinking the blade into the chest of Jackieboy man.

The hero’s eyes widened and he coughed, blood splattering on the blade. Phantom recoiled in disgust and yank his prized possession back, watching coldly as the hero crumbled to the floor. Marvin screamed and screamed, slamming his fists against the glass but Phantom paid him no heed. He lifted his polished shoes and kicked Jackie over, looking down at the hero like he was gum on his sole.

“This is what you get hero. For making him believe he would be anything more than a liar and a thief.”

Jackie watched through swimming vision as the suited man walked away with his best friend. He struggled to reach out his hand after them, summoning any ounce of strength he had left to get up. But he was fading, he could feel the hot leaking of his blood down his chest. He wasn’t gonna make it.

Phantom won.

There were bursts or muttered conversations, followed by flashing lights, then yelling and beeping. Was dying supposed to feel like this?

Jackie slowly opened his eyes to sunlight streaming into his face and he winced. He looked over to see a familiar hat hung over a bush of pale yellow-green hair as Chase lay sleeping in a chair nearby. Jackie groaned as he tried to sit up and yelped in pain as his arm tugged an iv.

Chase startled awake and threw himself out of his chair, quickly looking around for signs of danger. His eyes fell on Jackie and his face relaxed into a relieved smile.

“You’re awake!” Chase breathed, waking over to Jackie’s bedside.

Jackie tried to sit up again and Chase gently pushed him down, shaking his head.

“Don’t push yourself, dude. Schneep’s orders.”

Jackie nodded and fell back into his pillows, already exhausted. He opened his mouth to speak and pushed past the dryness of his tongue.

“M-Marvin…” He choked, “Marvin- h-he-!” A panicked look flashed in Jackie’s eyes and Chase quickly grabbed his hand and knelt down.

“Calm down Jackie. I’m sure Marvin is fine. Maybe he’ll be here soon…” Jackie quickly shook his head and bit his lip, blinking tears away.

“C-captured-“ Jackie managed to croak and Chase’s eyes widened in response.

“Captured?! By who?”

Jackie gritted his teeth, a look of pure hatred poisoning his face.

“Phantom.”


	2. A New Deal

There’s a sudden disturbance in the dark apartment of Marvin the Magnificent before a swirl of scarlet smoke fills the room and takes the shape of Phantom. Phantom snaps his fingers and suddenly all the lights flick on and Phantom plops himself down onto the couch in the middle of the room, sighing with contentment.

“Why are we in my apartment?” Marvin asks meekly from the crystal ball.

Phantom hums for a second before replying, “I may look like a wealthy man, my friend. But a phantom can only stay so long in one place. Deals get me a decent place to chill ‘till my next one.” He leans his head against the couch and closes his eyes, looking relaxed.

“Is that the only reason you wanted me? For my shitty apartment?!” Marvin exclaims. Phantom chuckles low in his throat.

“What a dumb question. Really, Marvin. I thought you were smarter than that.” Marvin flushes slightly and crosses his arms, glaring at Phantom from the ball.

“I wanted you because our deal is a debt. That you tried to skimp out of.” Phantom held the glass ball in front of his face and let the lights of the apartment dance off its surface. “I lent you my power so you could prove yourself, remember? And everything went great for you. But a loan only lasts so long. You magicians should really learn to read the fine print better.” Phantom chuckles again and lets the crystal ball fall back to eye level so he can talk to Marvin face to face. “You got everything you wanted didn’t you? Fame, confidence, friends? But your time was up a long time ago, Marvin. So now, everything you’ve become because of my power is now mine again.” He shrugged with a sickening grin. “It’s just business.”

Marvin bristled with anger and banged against the glass, “That’s bullshit! I already had magic before you- you can't just take that all away!” He tried to shout but Phantom gritted his teeth and slammed the scepter against the floor, jostling Marvin backward.

“You were nothing before I came along! Now that our deal is up, you’ll become nothing again. And no one will remember you.” He let his anger fade and a smile spread across his face, “Next time, don’t make a deal with a devil, sweetheart.”

Marvin opened his mouth to protest but is suddenly caught off by a pain in his chest. He retches and falls to his knees, gripping his chest. He feels a strange pulse of magic that feels like it’s grabbing inside his chest and threatening to pull whatever’s inside out.

“W-What are you doing to me? What’s h-happening?!” Marvin chokes, trying everything he can to keep this feeling from exploding out of him.

Phantom cackles and eyes the crystal ball. “Ah finally, you lasted much longer than most.” Marvin panted and held back a scream of pain.

“What’s happening to me?” Marvin demanded, voice breaking.

“You’re losing yourself. As I said, everything you were and everything you are, are mine. All your individuality, your uniqueness. Everything that made you, you.” Phantom chuckles, “And all the exposure you brought to yourself too.”

“E…Exposure…?” Marvin breathed, struggling to keep his panic down.

“Mhm, that’s what keeps me alive after all! Greedy little performers, wanting the spotlight. And I get paid with exposure.” Phantom laughs, “The broken dreams help too though.”

Marvin can’t respond as the pressure builds up to the extreme and he cries out loudly, gripping his chest with all his strength. He can hold out, then everything will be okay. He could still be him, he wouldn’t be lost and Jackie could-!

A blast of blue-green energy bursts out of Marvin’s chest and he screams in agony. The energy curls into a neat little bubble and floats above Marvin for a moment. Marvin slowly looks up and into it, seeing his reflection. But in that moment, he can’t recognize who it is anymore. The magic fades from green to a dark scarlet red, almost like blood, before it disappears. Marvin hangs his head, all fight and energy gone out of him. His body becomes discolored as the magic leaves him, making him look like he was dipped in red ink. Marvin stares emptily at the bottom of his prison, still, like a broken doll.

“Ah Marv,” Phantom says, tilting his head at the sight, “You almost got me feeling bad.” Phantom waves his hand over the ball and suddenly Marvin’s back out in the world. But he doesn’t move or react, he just stares brokenly at the floor.

“Such lost potential,” Phantom tuts as he strides towards Marvin. He kneels down and takes the former magician’s chin in his hand and lifts his face up. Marvin stares at Phantom with glassy eyes, as if he’s seeing past him.

“You really did impress me, Marvin,” Phantom muses as he stares down at him, “I don’t think anyone else had ever evaded me like you did. Nor, did anyone else have such success as you. Everyone knows your name thanks to that little duo of yours with that so-called 'hero'.”

Phantom backs up and drops Marvin’s chin. The broken man’s head falls back to his chest, continuing to stare out blankly at nothing. Phantom sighs and spins the scepter, ready to put Marvin back in his place.

Then he pauses, an idea taking form. He quickly kneels down again with a big grin on his face and snaps his fingers in Marvin’s face.

“Hey, Marv! Talk to me for a sec!”

Marvin takes a second to react but slowly he brings up his head and blinks at Phantom.

“..yes…” Marvin whispers, his voice sounding distant.

Phantom leans on his cane and grins bigger.

“I got a way for you to stay out of that ball. With your current fame and exposure, why, I could get more deals than ever before! It would be so easy…. And I’d still have you and your exposure to keep me going if all else fails.

...And you could have your magic back.”

Marvin’s eyes seem to change back to their original blue for a second at the thought and he stares almost hungrily at Phantom. Though Marvin isn’t himself anymore, he still knows magic and being himself were practically one and the same. He needs to feel whole again. Phantom can sense the building want in him and he chuckles and extends a hand out to Marvin.

Marvin slowly reaches out and takes Phantom’s hand. Phantom helps him to his feet and lets his scarlet smoke surround the two of them, showing Marvin his new desires.

“I can see it now,” Phantom sings, looking at the visions through the smoke, “You back on stage, dazzling the audiences with the best performance they’ve ever seen. Your magic unmatched. Everyone will know your name. And they’ll be no more heroes, or amateur doctors, or dopey dads, or old-timey wannabes to keep you down.”

Marvin stares at the visions, his apparent hunger becoming stronger. Phantom smirks.

“You won’t be just Marvin anymore. Or even just Marvin the Magnificent. You’ll just be… Magnificient.”

Marvin’s eyes alight with a newfound fire, a red glint appearing in his dull eyes. Phantom grips Marvin’s hand tight, drawing his attention back to him.

“Got a deal?” Phantom inquiries, but he already knows the answer. Marvin can’t resist.

“… yes…”


	3. Magnificent

Jackie is sitting on the couch at home, mindlessly watching tv, signature red hoodie on and mask tucked in his pocket. He’s bored out of mind. Since Marvin got captured, Schneep had forbidden him from looking for him or doing any hero work. And Jackie was ready to climb up the walls, he was going insane.

He groaned out loud and adjusted himself on the couch, still aching from his injuries. A head peeked out of the hall and approached Jackie. Jameson leaned his head over Jackie’s and met his eyes, giving him a concerned frown. He signed “ice?” at Jackie and the hero just smiled and shook his head

“Thanks, J, but I’m okay…” 

Jamie raised his eyebrows then shrugged, heading back down the hall

As he left Jackie heard shuffling from the kitchen behind him followed by a shout, “Jackie! You sounded like you were in pain, do you need anything?” 

Jackie groaned again and rolled his eyes, lifting himself up to yell from the edge of the couch, “No Chase! I’m fine!” 

Chase gave him a sheepish smile before retreating back to the kitchen with a “just checking, bro!”

Jackie sighed and closed his eyes. He was grateful that his friends were there to help him if he needed it after his injuries. But he was starting to miss the quiet of having an apartment to himself, even if Jamie didn’t make any noise.

Grabbing the remote from the floor, Jackie rolls over and starts scrolling through the channels. Why did they still have cable again? Everything is online these days. But hey he just needed something to distract himself for a second. His mind was buzzing way too loudly- he needed background noise at the very least.

While he’s flipping he thinks he sees a familiar sight. A green-haired man wearing a cat mask. He accidentally scrolls past it but he yelps when he sees it and quickly sits up to scroll back. When he finds the channel again the announcer booms:

“Welcome all, to our performance tonight! It’s the great magician, formally known as Marvin the Magnificent. Give a round of applause for Magnificent!”

Marvin appears on stage in a poof of red-tinged smoke, donning a nice red dress shirt and black vest. He’s wearing a glittering cape and a new red and yellow colored mask. He bows for the crowd and gives a dead-eyed smile to the camera.

Chase, having heard Jackie exclaim comes running out of the kitchen again and pants as he nears the couch.

“What? What is it?” He stops and gapes at the tv, “Is… Is that Marvin?”

Jackie can’t believe his eyes. How is Marvin there? He stares wide-eyed at the screen and knits his eyebrows together.

“Something’s wrong…”

“I thought you said he was captured?” Chase mutters and Jackie quickly shushes him so he can hear.

Marvin doesn’t even greet the audience like he usually does. He just claps his hands together, magic bursting in his hands making his hair and cape fly in the wind. He opens his hands and out pops a couple of white doves, who coo and zoom out over the crowd. They cheer watching the birds fly in amazement. Marvin grins and moves to snap his fingers. The doves all instantly burst into red and yellow confetti that rains down on the audience. They roar in applause.

Jameson, hearing the commotion, peaks back out and makes his way to join the other boys. He sits on the couch and stares at the tv before silently gasping and covering his mouth with his hands.

Marvin grins on stage and shifts to snap his other hand. The confetti shifts into billowing red smoke and the lights dim and turn red, casting the audience in blood-red light. Phantom, in the audience, smirks and focuses to try to find a fitting victim.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Marvin projects through the thick smoke, “I see the wonder in your eyes. You must be wondering, how can I perform such feats?” Marvin laughs, but it’s almost sinister and a chill runs through the crowd. Marvin then spreads out his hands and the smoke instantly clears but he’s no longer on stage. Instead, he’s floating about 10 ft off the ground, sitting in the air. The crowd erupts in response and Marvin does a half bow.

The magician floats down and lightly touches back to the stage to bow properly. He snaps his fingers as he draws back up and a bright red flame appears. Marvin throws out his hands and the flames follow after his movements, creating dazzling visions and fireworks in the air. After making what looks like a little septic eye out of flames, Marvin outstretches a hand then clenches it tightly into a fist. The flames turn into a shower of red roses and Marvin bows again to the screaming crowd. He catches one of the falling roses from the air as he looks back at the audience.

“My friends,” Marvin says, “You too can do these feats as well. You just need the right… opportunity!” He reaches out a hand to the crowd, “May I have a volunteer?”

Jackie whispers as he watches, fixated on the screen, “Marvin never asks for volunteers…”

Phantom scans the room through Marvin’s eyes. Through the still lingering smoke, he can feel the building desires of the crowd. His eyes land on a teenage boy, eagerly jumping in the air trying to get called on. With dreams so big, Phantom can’t help but grin. Marvin points out to the crowd and a light appears over the boy.

“We have a winner, ladies and germs!” Marvin says with a dead-eyed grin as he lifts up his hand. The boy is lifted up in the air as the crowd gasps. The boy stares in wonder as Marvin gently pulls him onto the stage. The boy then looks at Marvin with stars in his eyes. Marvin smiles and offers him one of the roses.

“Do you want to do magic?” Marvin asks the boy with a sly grin. The boy eagerly nods. "Yes! More than anything! It’s always been my dream!” Marvin then gets behind him and takes his arm, extending it outwards.

“Look inside yourself,” He mutters, “Imagine your desires…” Off stage, Phantom is whispering the same words into his scepter, as if Marvin is just his mouth piece. The boys are surrounded by red smoke for a second before Marvin closes in, “Now, just snap!”

The boy snaps his fingers and out from his hand bursts a massive colored flame, climbing up half the view of the stage. The crowd breaks into outrageous applause and the boy looks about ready to cry, a huge smile on his face. Phantom grins and chuckles sinisterly.

“See everyone! Anyone can do magic! Just follow your dreams!” Marvin announces, holding the boy close. The boy wipes away happy tears and waves at the audience. Jackie suddenly gets a bad feeling in his gut.

“Now,” Marvin starts, turning to the boy, “Why don’t we get an autograph from our new shining star?” He snaps his fingers and a roll of paper appears, as well as a big feather quill. "To end our show with a bang!”

Jackie immediately bolts up away from the tv, startling the other boys.

“He’s gonna make that kid sign a deal!” Jackie shouts, hands clenched into fists, “Phantom’s controlling him!”

Chase looks back to the tv with fear in his eyes, “Shit- what can we do?!”

Jackie quickly spins and grabs Jameson’s shoulders. “Jamie,” he pleads, “You can teleport can’t you? I think this is at the Brighton Theater, if you get us there we can stop this!”

Jameson stares at Jackie with wide eyes, softly shaking his head. He’s never done magic that big before, only small little disappearing acts. Tiny magic stuff. Jackie leans down and grips Jamie’s shoulders harder.

“C’mon JJ! Marvin needs us! And I know we can save him, but we gotta get there now!”

Jamie bundles his fists and stares at his lap in conflict. He then pushes up and grabs Chase’s hand as well as Jackie’s. Jackie quickly pulls on his mask as Jameson closes his eyes and they all disappear in a swirl of teal magic.

The boy stares for a second before excitedly grabbing the quill. Marvin and Phantom grin sinister smiles in unison as the boy reaches to sign the paper. Usually Phantom likes a little more from his victims, but hey a deal was a deal. He could make something out of this.

Just before the pen reaches the paper, a teal light appeared above the stage. And out of it topples out three boys with green hair, nearly splatting themselves onto Marvin and the boy. The boy jumps back startled then looks at Marvin, “Woah! You didn’t even snap or anything! How did you do that?’

Jackie quickly gets up from the jumbled pile, wiping dust off his jacket and adjusting his mask. Whispers of exclamation erupt from the crowd at the sight of Jackieboy man, joining the stage. Chase helps Jamie up and brushes him off, patting his shoulder for the job well done. Jameson gives him an exhausted-looking thumbs up.

“Woah! You’re Jackieboy Man!” The boy exclaims, and Jackie gives him a gentle smile before turning and assuming a fighting pose at Marvin, “That’s right. But kid, you need to get out of here. ASAP.”

Jackie looks out in the audience and makes eye contact with an enraged Phantom. He glares at the demon before addressing the crowd, “This 'Magnificent' here isn’t the Marvin we all know and love! He’s nothing but an imposter!” He looks Marvin straight in the eyes and his face softens slightly, but he looks more determined than ever, “But we’re here to save him.”

Gasps and shouts of confusion burst from the audience and the volunteer looks at Marvin in stunned disbelief. Marvin bristles with anger, magic building up around his body.

Phantom growls and quickly whispers to the crystal ball, his words coming out at the same time as Marvin’s on top of the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen! It looks there’s gonna be a grand finale after all!” The crowd cheers again as Marvin turns to face the other three, an eerie red glint in his eyes.

“For my final act! I shall make these three jokesters disappear!” Marvin growls the last words in a deep threatening voice as he snaps his fingers and a bolt of scarlet-tinged lightning shrieks its way towards the boys.

Chase and Jackie duck out of the way and Jamie shuts his eyes tight and concentrates. A thin teal shield pops up in front of him, looking like his pocket watch, and blocks the blast before shattering into pieces and sending him sliding backward.

The crowd erupts into screams of panic as many rush to the doors of the theater to escape. Marvin pays them no heed and strides forward, readying his fingers to snap again but Jackie quickly stands up and blocks the other two from view.

“Marvin stop, please! This isn’t you!” He begs, his voice threatening to break. Marvin pauses in his stride and tilts his head at Jackie like he’s trying to comprehend what he’s said. Then his head snaps back up and he growls, that red glint back in his eyes.

“I’m exactly who I need to be. Magnificent!” He snaps his fingers again and Jackie is blown backward into Jamie and Chase by a blast of colored air. The boys all cough and try to catch their breath. 

"What do we do Jackie? He doesn't even seem to remember us!" Chase whispers as he tries to help the hero up.

Jackie winces and rolls out his shoulder, gritting his teeth. "He thinks he belongs to Phantom because he has his magic... Marvin thinks he's nothing without it. We gotta remind him of who he is now- without Phantom. Who he is outside of magic!" Jameson and Chase exchange looks before nodding. But, before Jackie can get to his feet, Marvin outstretches his hand and suddenly Jackie is lifted up into the air. Jackie struggles but his arms are bound tight to his body by Marvin’s telekinesis. He whimpers slightly at the pressure and tries to speak up again.

“Marvin, you’re so much more than just your magic!” Jackie cries.

Chase stands up to full height and joins in, “Yeah Marvin! Remember what’s good about you! Like how kind you are!”

“How you cry at Disney movies!” Jackie shouts.

“How you make my kids smile,” Chase says slightly quieter, a sad smile on his face, “How you could always make them laugh, even without your mask or your magic!”

Jamie jumps up and waves his hands before signing 'Brave' and ‘Confident' Marvin’s way.  
"You don't belong to him Marv! You worked so hard to be so much more-!" Jackie squeaks as Marvin increases the hold on him and uses his other hand to grab Chase and Jamie into a telekinetic hold as well, bringing them up to Jackie’s level and increasing the pressure on all of them.

“Shut up!” Phantom says through Marvin’s voice, “That Marvin doesn’t exist anymore, he’s gone!”

Jackie struggles, feeling pressure on his neck, threatening to silence him. But he manages to choke out, “Then, why are you crying?!”

There’s a pause as a thin tear falls down Marvin’s face under his mask. Marvin and Phantom scream in rage as one and Marvin throws his hands down, causing the three to crash through the stage in a huge explosion of dust.

Phantom takes that as his cue to disappear and reappear behind the curtains. Marvin makes his way through the billowing dust to look down at his bruised and battered opponents.

“Give up,” Marvin sneers, his eyes lighting with red fire, “You can’t save me. There’s nothing more to save.”

With shaking arms Jackie struggles to sit up, his old wounds hissing in pain. He opens one eye through the pain and grunts, “Yes, there is. I know my friend is still in there….”

“Why do you even care?!” Marvin suddenly exclaims, sounding more like himself for a second, “I was nobody before you found me! I shouldn’t matter to you! To any of you!!” Marvin’s shaking, and Phantom feels his control of him slipping. He glares and grips his cane hard in his hands, trying to think.

“You’re our friend, Marvin!” Chase shouts, clutching his bruised sides, “You’re more than that actually you’re our…” When Chase can’t seem to find the word, Jamie moves to sign it. “You’re our brother.”

More tears streak down Marvin’s face despite his enraged expression. He lifts a hand to blast the boys again, but he hesitates, his hand shaking uncontrollably.

Jackie stands and limps his way up to Marvin. “C’mon Marv… I know you don’t want to do this… You only ever wanted a chance to prove yourself. And, well look at you! You’re the most determined and clever person I’ve ever met. You’re meant to do so much more than this…”

Marvin’s eyes shift back to their original blue and he holds back a sob, unable to put down his hand. He bends down his head and weakly mumbles, "I-I... I don’t want to hurt anyone…”

“You don’t have to Marvin,” Chase encourages, helping up Jamie again so they can stand by Jackie. Jackie reaches out his hand towards Marvin, “Just put your hand down, and we can end this.”

“I-I can’t!” Marvin cries, shutting his eyes, his hand shaking more, his fingers ready to snap at any moment, “P-Phantom…! I… I belong to him now.”

“That’s right,” A dark voice says from behind the curtain. The boys all turn to see Phantom appear in his signature poof of red smoke, twirling his cane in his hand.

“You guys can’t take my little performer away from me,” Phantom taunts, drawing near, "After all, without me, he wouldn’t have his magic… Then who would he be?” He comes up behind Marvin and drapes an arm over his shoulder, and Marvin grits his teeth and stares down at the floor.

Jackie strides forward in rage, "He’d still be fucking Marvin! That’s all he needs to be!”

Phantom laughs, “Oh okay, Mr. hero. If you didn’t have your powers, who would you be?”

“I’d still be me, ya freaky con man. I’d still do whatever I could to help others and do what I love. I don’t need powers to do that. And neither does Marvin.”

Marvin stares at Jackie, more tears streaming down his face.

"I…” He whispers in a small voice, “I… I never realized…” Phantom snarls in rage and grips Marvin’s shoulder even harder, causing the magician to yelp in pain. He points his cane at Jackie and the orb glows red, as do Marvin’s eyes. Marvin’s arm finally stops shaking and he snaps as soon as Phantom says the word, blasting Jackie back in a powerful explosion of sparks.

Then, in a flash, Phantom is at Jackie’s side, the blade of his cane ready to slice the hero in half. Marvin quickly shakes his head, normal again for a moment. He screams as he sees Phantom move to cut Jackie down and suddenly the con-man's body is encased in blue-green magic. In a flash of green light, before he could even touch his blade to Jackie, Phantom is thrown into the side of the stage, his cane sliding across the floor away from him.

The cane rolls and hits Marvin’s foot. The magician stares down at it in shock, as if he’s just finally seeing it for the first time. He picks it up slowly, studying it in his hands. Phantom hisses as he struggles to stand up.

“Marvin,” he croaks, “Buddy… just-!”

Marvin points the cane Phantom’s way with a dark look on his face. “Shut up,” he growls menacingly, and Phantom swallows.

“You… You almost took everything from me!’ Marvin yells shakily, drawing closer to Phantom, “My magic, my home, my friends! My identity! All because... Why? Because I wanted to prove myself? I had magic... I had a future before you came along!”

He stops in front of the terrified looking Phantom and holds the staff in two hands, glaring down at him, “But, I don’t need magic to be me anymore. I have my friends to remind me of who I am. So you can take your crummy deal back!” Marvin takes the scepter and breaks it over his knee, snapping it in two.

A bolt of green and blue light shoots out of the crack and blasts Marvin backward, sending him flying into Chase and Jamie. They catch him and keep him from dropping to the floor, his body shaking from the force of the blast.

“No! NO!” Phantom screams, crawling over to the broken pieces of his staff. Soft wisps of smoke come swirling out of the break, turning from scarlet red back to brighter colors of the rainbow. Phantom quickly tries to snap the pieces back together, holding the crack tight, hoping to contain the smoke back inside. He glares at the boys in pure hatred before he disappears in a puff of smoke.

As soon as Phantom leaves, Marvin’s eyes roll up in the back of his head and he becomes dead weight in the arms of his friends. Chase lowers him to the ground, lightly tapping his face to try to wake him up. Jamie stares at him looking scared.

Jackie struggles to stand on his feet, his vision blurring slightly. He draws a hand away from his chest to reveal a small amount of blood on his hand. His wound must have opened up in the fight. He grits his teeth and covers up the wound to not worry the others and limps his way back to them. He kneels down and puts a hand on Jamie’s shoulder.

“Think ya got enough in you to get us home, bud?” He asks, and Jamie quickly nods, grabbing the other boys hands and sending them back to Jackie’s apartment in a flash of teal.


	4. Red Flags

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a few weeks after saving Marvin from Phanton's clutches... but something still isn't quite right with the magician.

It all started one day during a hero mission. It had been a couple of weeks since the last incident with Phantom and both Jackie and Marvin were feeling fit enough to get back into the swing of things. Luckily, Marvin managed to keep his magic despite everything.

There was a minor bank robbery a couple of streets down from their hideout and the two sprung into action as soon as they heard the alert on the police scanner they had installed. Jackie bounded from roof to roof, so glad to be back in his hero’s costume. Marvin quickly followed behind him, using his telekinesis to land softly on the rooftops after Jackie, his old mask and cape on.

They saw the preparator at the edge of the street, looking around trying to figure out which way the cops were coming from, a big bag of loot in hand. Jackie gave a wild war cry and jumped off the roof, giving the robber and solid kick to the back of the head. The big guy stumbled and slipped to the ground, his bag of goods tumbling away from him. But he wasn’t out for the count yet. Jackie landed right next to him and the criminal grabbed the hero’s foot and yanked him to throw him off his feet. Jackie yelped and growled as he twisted to kick the guy in the face. They both broke away and got to their feet, giving each other a silent standoff.

Jackie sprang at the robber with a fist ready to punch him in the gut. But the robber, despite his size, was fast. He grabbed Jackie’s fist and threw him across the street. Jackie bounced against the roof of a parked car and hit his back against a street lamp as he fell off. He got up rubbing his sore back after a little bit of trouble. Man, he was out of practice.

Marvin saw the robber throw Jackie and rage swelled up in his chest. He flew down and reached out a hand for the robber, his hands glowing green. He growled and swished his hand, grabbing the criminal in a force of blue-green magic, and sent the man spinning into the wall of a nearby building. He then moved his hand and brought the villain against the bricks again, and again and again. The robber’s face was dripping with blood and he eyed Marvin with a pitiful plea. Marvin snarled at the man and lifted him up, using his hold to choke him. His magic seemed to be tinted red.

Jackie finally managed to get back up to join the fight when he saw the robber lifted into the air. He gasped at the sight and sped over to where he saw Marvin’s enraged face. Jackie was flashed back to their fight with Phantom and a shiver came over him as he recognized a bit of red in his magic.

“Marvin stop!” the hero cried, speeding over and grabbing Marvin’s arm, “You’re gonna kill him!”

Marvin snapped his head down at Jackie and for a second, Jackie’s heart stopped at the sight. The magician's eyes were murderous, hints of red in his irises. But then Marvin’s face softened and he blinked at Jackie like he wasn’t sure what he was doing.

“J…Jackie?” He asked, and slowly realized he was holding up somebody. He gasped as he saw the sight of the man and his magic quickly fizzled out and the man dropped to the street. Jackie shoved Marvin aside slightly and ran over to make sure the robber was still alive. He checked his pulse and sighed in relief when he felt something. He then stood up and marched over to Marvin, glaring.

“What the hell was that Marv?!” He questioned, pointing at the fallen body. Marvin stared, slowly beginning to shake.

“I-i… I dunno... I was just trying to help a-and then….!” Marvin’s breathing grew faster and he gripped his hands to his chest, looking panicked, “E-everything went r-red….”

Jackie blinked and quickly wrapped his arms around Marvin’s shoulder, gently rubbing them to help him calm down. “Hey… it’s okay… don’t panic okay?”

Marvin nodded and tried to calm down his breathing, “Y-yeah.. O-okay… I’m sorry…” Jackie shook his head, “Don’t apologize, man, we got the guy, so we did our job!” He grinned at Marvin and the magician gave him a half-hearted smile back. He then pushed himself out of Jackie’s arms and started heading back into town, “I... I think I gotta go home..” He quickly mumbled as he jogged away. Jackie scratched his head as he watched him leave, wondering what the heck just happened.

Two days later, no one had heard from Marvin and Jackie was starting to worry. He went out and got their favorite, yet somewhat greasy, pizza and headed towards his apartment. Jackie knocked on the door and waited a moment before yelling, “Yo Marv! It’s Jackie open up!! I got us pineapple pizza~!”

No answer. Jackie tried knocking again harder, “Marvin?” Still no answer. Jackie frowned and shuffled so he could try the door handle, it was unlocked. He slowly pushed the door open, “Hey Marv, don’t mean to intrude… you okay-?”

When the door opens Jackie is unnerved by the sight. Marvin’s usually tidy apartment is in complete disarray. Clothes were strewn across the floor, decks of cards everywhere. Jackie looks up on the walls to see scorch marks running up the walls, and indents in the plaster. Jackie carefully walks into the living room, setting the pizza down on the nearest table.

“M-Marvin…?” He calls out hesitantly. He turns to the side and sees the nice mirror Marvin has on the mantle is shattered. Jackie’s heart is leaping in his throat. Did Phantom come back and steal Marvin away? Jackie quickly breaks into a sprint and bursts open the door to Marvin’s room.

The bedroom is dark, except for small bursts of sparks that illuminate the magician’s face inside. Jackie quickly flicks on the light switch to see Marvin standing in the middle of the room, holding his hand as he snaps and snaps, making tiny bursts in the air. But he looks frazzled. His hair is messy and unbrushed, and he has deep purple bags under his eyes. He looks like he’s one strong wind away from being blown over. He doesn’t even flinch when the lights flickered on, he’s too concentrated.

Jackie is relieved but also a little freaked out. He carefully enters the room and walks up to his best friend. “Uh… Marv?”

Marvin jumps at the sound and almost bursts a set of sparks in Jackie’s face. He blinks rapidly as he looks at Jackie.

“J-Jackie…? H...How did you?” He mutters, staring at him wide-eyed. Jackie eyes Marvin up and down in concern.

“Dude… you look terrible. What’s up with you? Are you okay? I got worried when I didn’t hear from you after that fight.”

Marvin slowly stares down at the hand he’s been holding, and Jackie sees that it's shaking. The magician takes a shaky breath before whispering, “Something’s wrong with me…”

“What?” Jackie asks in concern, lightly touching Marvin’s shoulder. Marvin flinches at the touch and moves backward, looking haunted.

“I-I… My.. my magic hasn’t been working. S-Sometimes it just explodes a-and i swear I see it turn red! Then s-sometimes... It doesn’t work at all… or t-the spells keeping getting messed up…” Marvin stares crestfallen at the floor, looking beyond exhausted, “I.. I think I’m hearing voices too… And yesterday… I-I caught my reflection in the mirror but for a second…! I… I didn’t recognize myself…” Marvin’s expression turned wild-eyed as he continued, “And then... I saw his face! I saw… I saw….” Marvin starts shaking like a leaf and Jackie quickly drapes his arms around Marvin and leads him to his bed to sit down.

“Dude, take it easy,” Jackie suggests, “Just breathe for me okay?” Jackie slowly moves his hand and slows down his breath so Marvin can follow. Soon, they both start breathing slower and slower and Marvin starts to calm down.

“Marv… why don’t you come stay at my place for a while? I don’t think you should be alone right now…” Jackie finally says, “And maybe we could make it fun! I’m sure Chase wouldn’t mind coming or JJ and who knows... Maybe if Schneep isn’t too busy at the hospital he can come too!”

Marvin stares at his lap with a distant expression before he slowly nods, “Yeah… that’s probably a good idea…” Marvin looks like he’s ready to pass out.

“Have you been sleeping at all?”

Marvin shakes his head before twiddling with his thumbs. “Nightmares…” He whispers. Jackie bites his lip before helping Marvin up. “Welp bud, let’s get the things you need to stay over!”

It seemed like the simplest solution. But things only got worse.

One night after a late-night crime occurred and Jackie crashed on the couch because he was too tired to make it to his room, he was awoken by the door to the apartment slamming shut. The hero jolted awake and looked around, only to see the door to the room that Marvin was sleeping in was open. And he wasn’t in there.

Jackie quickly pulled on his sneakers and dashed out the door. It was raining again and he struggled to see through the mist, but he saw a figure walking ahead of him, trudging through the puddles. Jackie quickly bound after him and saw right away that it was Marvin, walking barefooted through the streets.

“Marvin!” Jackie called out to him, probably pissing off any neighbors since it was like 3 am. Marvin didn’t respond. Jackie finally caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder, hoping to get him to stop. But Marvin didn’t react to that either.

“Yo Marvin, what the fu-?” Jackie is caught off guard when he sees Marvin’s face. He’s staring off in the distance, not quite awake but not sleeping either. His face has a strangely blank expression on it, and Jackie can see a hint of red in his eyes.

Jackie jolts and makes his way in front of Marvin and quickly waves his hand in front of his face, trying to wake him.

“Marvin! Marvin! C’mon, damn it... Wake up!” Jackie snaps in front of Marvin’s face and suddenly Marvin’s head twitches and he finally blinks like he’s woken up. He shakes his head several times and blinks like he’s having trouble focusing.

“Jackie?” Marvin asks quietly, still blinking and shaking his head. Then his knees buckle and he’s falling towards the sidewalk, but Jackie’s quick enough to catch him.

Marvin pants and stares at the puddles in the sidewalk, “What… What are we doing?” he whispers, staring up at Jackie with a hint of fear in his eyes. Jackie shakes his head and hoists Marvin up so he can help him walk.

“We’re getting you home to sleep, c’mon…” Marvin shivers in Jackie’s arms but doesn’t question him.

The next day Marvin slept in, tuckered out from whatever woke him up. Though it was a restless sleep and he woke up feeling just as exhausted as he was before.

He walks into the living room to see Chase and Jamie playing card games while laying on the couch. Chase perks up once he sees Marvin and gives him a big grin.

“Hey, Marv!” He greets then gestures behind him, “I brought donuts! Jackie had to go do something but he said he’ll be back soon.” Jamie quietly taps Chase’s shoulder before showing him his hand and Chase groans in defeat.

Marvin mumbles grumpily and makes his way to the kitchen to grab some food. He comes back to the boys and leans against the couch, munching on his donut.

“Whatcha guys doin’?” Marvin inquiries. Jamie leans over and shows Marvin the empty card case with a big smile on his face.

“Jamie got a new deck of cards and he wanted to try them out,” Chase explains with a grin, “Wanna join?”

“Nah,” Marvin says with a slight mouthful, “I’d wipe the floor with you, and that just not fair.”

Chase raises an eyebrow, “Why are you confident that you’ll beat us?” He says with a laugh. 

Marvin smirks, “Please Brody, I use these things for a living. There’s not a card game I can’t win.”

Chase sits up and gets up in Marvin’s face at the back of the couch, “Okay Mr. Snarky, why don’t we make a bet? If you can beat us at 3 games in a row, I’ll declare you the king of cards!”

Marvin rolls his eyes and snorts, “That’s it?”

Chase laughs, “Okay, and whatever you want I guess. But if I win…. You gotta go out to town with us wearing a joker outfit!” Jamie covers his mouth in a silent laugh at the thought. 

Marvin hesitates for a second before grinning and offering Chase his hand, “Deal!”

Chase brings out his hardest most obscure games to challenge Marvin with. The kids’ grandparents always had new weird ones to play when they visited, some so obscure you could never really agree on the name. Chase was so sure these would throw Marvin off.

But that sneaky magician won every round. He gave Chase a cheeky grin as he threw down his last card and declared the game over. Chase and Jamie groaned and threw their cards.

“Welp sounds like someone owes me a new title~” Marvin taunted as he got up and headed over to Chase. Chase stood up then sighed and took Marvin’s hand to shake it.

“Fine, you’re the King of Cards… Now, what do you want for winning?” Marvin paused for a second to think. But then suddenly a strange expression came over his face and slowly a creepy grin started spreading across his face.

“Marv-?!” Chase tried to ask before a pain in his chest had him falling to his knees. He retched, trying to breathe but it felt like something was trying to burst its way out. And Marvin still hadn’t let go of his hand.

“M-Marvin!” Chase choked, trying to pull his hand away, but Marvin gripped his hand harder, causing Chase to cry out. His whole body was shaking and he couldn’t breathe. “Marvin, p-please! Stop!”

“A deal’s a deal…” Marvin whispered in a haunting voice, and Chase looked up to see a hint of red in his dead eyes. But Chase felt like he was gonna faint.

Everything burst all at once. A flash of teal magic knocked Marvin’s and Chase’s hands apart and then Marvin was shoved aside by a blur of red. Jamie was wheezing slightly, spent from the big burst of energy he just had to summon. Jackie, back just in time from his errands, held Marvin with his hands behind his back as Marvin panted and stared at Chase hungrily. Then Marvin’s eyes are rolling to the back of his head and he folds forward, nearly toppling out of Jackie’s arms.

There are a couple of minutes of tense silence as the boys try to recover.

Chase tries to catch his breath, “What.. what the hell was that?”

Jackie chews his lip and moves to hold Marvin better, “I think we need to call Schneep.”

The boys carry Marvin to the hospital where Schneep works and by some miracle manage to drag him away to examine Marvin.

“I do not know why you called me Jackie…” Schneep says with a sigh as he finishes, “I do not think there's anything I can do.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Jackie shouts, “You’re a doctor and Marvin is sick or something!”

Schneep huffs and rolls his eyes, “I may be a doctor but I am not some voodoo magic doctor!” Schneep raises his hands and shouts back slightly, “Whatever is wrong with Marvin is beyond what i can treat.”

“What do you mean?” Chase asks, concerned. Schneep shakes his head and moves to push some hair out of Marvin’s face, who looks flushed and exhausted.

“Besides sleep deprivation… Marvin is completely healthy…” The doctor sighs, “Whatever this is… it must be in Marvin’s mind… perhaps trauma from all that has happened?”

Jackie shakes his head and leans against the windowsill, “It’s gotta be more than that! This is too freaky… it’s like Marvin’s still not himself….”

There’s a moment of silence before Jamie quickly bolts up from his chair and starts signing crazily fast. Chase rushes over and holds one of his hands, trying to get him to calm down, “Woah Woah buddy, we can’t understand when you sign like that, slow down!” 

Jamie nods then signs “I think I know what’s wrong.”

Jackie crosses his arms but sets his attention on Jamie, “Yeah? What?”

Jamie signs, “The red… the unstable magic… the forgetting…” Jamie seems to lose what he wanted to sign and looks fearful before he looks back up at the others and signs,

“What if Marvin’s deal with Phantom was never broken?”


	5. Damaged Minds and Temptations

“So,” Marvin breathes once he’s awake, “I’m not free of Phantom yet?” He sighs and puts his head in his hand then laughs bitterly, “O-of course… of course this wouldn’t be over so easily….” He looks about ready to cry and Jameson quickly comes over and sits with him on the hospital bed, rubbing his arm in comfort.

“Don’t give up hope Marvin,” Chase quietly encourages, “There’s gotta be some way to free you from Phantom…”

“Like what?” Marvin snaps, “Destroying the scepter did nothing! What else is there?!”

There’s a moment of silence.

“…. Didn’t you sign a contract?” Jackie asks timidly, afraid of Marvin’s rage resurfacing. Marvin opens his mouth like he’s gonna snap again but quickly closes it and thinks.

“… yeah I did. Do you think…?” Marvin poses the question to the group. Jamie nods enthusiastically and signs, “We break the contract, then you’re free!” 

“But how do we get to the contract? I mean Phantom has a shop where he does business… but I'm sure it’s guarded and the contracts are probably enchanted with strong magic… It won’t be so easy to destroy them.” Marvin sighs and rubs his eyes tiredly, “I’m the only one with powerful enough magic that could break it… but if I go near him again…” Marvin bites his lip and grips at his hair, looking terrified. The others get the message.

“What about Jamie?” Chase pipes up. 

Jackie jumps up at that, “Yeah Jamie has magic too! He might be able to break it!” Jameson has a wide-eyed look of fear on his face as the others all turn to him.

“JJ…” Marvin starts, “Do you think you could?”

Jameson nervously signs, “I don’t know… my magic is not strong like yours.”

“But it is something… something the others don’t have. It might be all we have to fight against Phantom.” Marvin pushes. Jameson nods but he looks nervous.

“I don’t know… I’m afraid.” The gentleman signs again, nervously picking at his vest buttons once he’s done.

‘We’re all afraid Jamie,” Jackie says comfortingly, “But… Marvin is falling apart. No offense, Marv. And if we don’t do something soon to free him… who knows what will happen.”

Marvin grips at the bedsheets in frustration, gritting his teeth. “If I wasn’t so stupid… this wouldn’t have happened.”

Chase softly bumps Marvin’s shoulder, “Bro, this wasn’t your fault. It’s Phantom’s. He takes advantage of people’s dreams to take them down. You weren’t the first to fall with him, and sadly you probably won’t be the last.”

Marvin nods but a single tear falls down his face and he bites back a sob. Jamie quickly leans over and gives him a well-meaning hug before getting his attention. He quickly signs with a determined look in his eyes, “I’ll do whatever it takes to help you, my friend.”

The plan was simple. Jameson would sneak into Phantom’s shop and try to find the contracts. Jackie would be in his ear through a listening device so the others staked out could come if Jamie needed help. Marvin also had a minor mental link connected between him and Jamie, so he could understand him if he needed to ask questions. They had to stay back at the apartment though, Marvin was nervous about being too close to the shop. But if need be, he could get them to Jameson with his magic.

“Don’t be too nervous Jamie,” Marvin reassured him, “I remember Phantom telling me he can’t stay in one place for too long, and once he secures a deal, he’ll crash at that person’s place till they… well… you know. We just gotta cross our fingers and hope he’s been busy.” 

Jamie quickly found the little shop, that kinda resembled a niche little fortune teller’s shop. The sign read: Phantom Dream Emporium. Jamie scoffed and rolled his eyes. What a cheesy name.

He cautiously peered through the blinds on the windows and was happy to see the inside was dark. He looked at the door and tried something he was sure wasn’t gonna work, he tried to turn the knob. But, the door was unlocked.

Jameson was surprised but didn’t want to spit in the face of good luck. He opened the door. Jackie mumbled to the rest of the group, “Sounds like he got inside okay.” Marvin frowned, “Well that seems… easy.”

The gentleman tiptoed inside, looking around the dark parlor, He could see glints of decorated tables and crystal balls flashing from the moonlight outside, but other than that it was hard to tell where he was. He ran into what felt like a couch and stumbled back, rubbing his knee. Then suddenly, the lights flashed on, casting the whole room in a dull red glow.

“Ah, Jameson Jackson,” came a voice from a curtain behind him. The way parted and Phantom stepped out with a sly grin, “Welcome in. Glad you’ve made yourself at home.”

Jamie stumbled backward and almost knocked over one of the tables, quickly starting to shake. But he put on a face of steely determination.

“Oh that’s right,” Phantom mused as he made his way to his intruder, twirling his cane in his fingers, “You’re the silent one of the Septics…. Must be hard.” He flashed an almost caring looking smile down at him, but his eyes gave away his malicious intent.

Jamie pointed to Phantom’s scepter, before making a motion to his heart and signed, “You have something that belongs to my friend.”

Phantom laughed and shook his head, “You know I can’t really understand you there, Jackson. But I can guess what you want.” He twirled his scepter up again and held it to his face, staring inside as magic swirled through the glass. “You’re here to free Marvin aren’t ya?” He chuckled and set down his cane so he could lean on it while he regarded Jameson, “I knew you all would try eventually. I can still feel our deal, though it’s a bit corrupted from our little spar the other day.” He grinned and snickered, “But your little magician is still mine.”

The quiet little magician held out his hand and tried to bring Phantom towards him, but his little amount of magic just merely pulled on the demon’s collar before it fizzled out. Phantom threw back his head in laughter.

“Was that supposed to be a threat?” He continued to laugh then he pointed the crystal ball Jamie’s way before it started to glow red. Next thing he knew he was being thrown into the wall at blinding speeds.

“Jamie! JJ!” Jackie was shouting in his ear, only hearing bit and pieces of the commotion, “What’s going on?!” Marvin bit his lip, “You know he can’t answer you right?!” Marvin concentrated and speak through Jamie’s mind for a moment, “Jamie are you alright?”

“P-Phantom,” Jamie wheezed through his mind as he struggled to get up.

Marvin gasped and addressed the others, “Phantom’s there.”

Phantom taps his way across the hardwood floor before he leans down by Jameson. “You know, Jackson. We don’t need to fight. The answer to your little problem is quite a simple fix.” He used his crystal ball to bring the kneeling man’s chin up and gave him a shit-eating grin, “You just have to make a deal with me, and I’ll free Marvin.”

Jameson springs away shaking his head and looking angry. He crossed his arms in front of his face like an x, making sure Phantom knew he would never. Phantom just chuckled.

“Oh Jameson,” He spoke gently, weaving his way around the man, “You must have gotten the wrong idea about me from our good friend Marvin. I’m not a bad guy.” Jamie rolled his eyes and made a silent scoff, Phantom continued with a grin, “I’m really not. All I want is to help folks make their dreams come true. Is that so bad?”

“Jamie whatever you do, don't listen to him!” Jackie shouts in his ear, “Find the contract and get out of there now!”

“I can tell you have big dreams, Mr. Jackson,” Phantom smoothly coos, “Sure it might seem like you don’t want them now. But I can tell… they’re exactly what you need.” He points his cane Jameson’s way and suddenly the room is being filled with red smoke. ‘Let me show you,” Phantom sings through the fog, and Jameson panics and tries to back away but there’s nowhere to go.

“JJ! Jamie!!” Jackie shouts in his ear, but before he can continue, Phantom sneaks behind Jamie and plucks the device out of his ear and flicks it into the smoke, “Let’s get rid of that distracting noise shall we?” Jameson swallows but already the smoke is worming its way into his senses and he starts to see all he desires appear before.

“I can see it,” Phantom narrates as he looks too, “You just want to be understood. It’s hard being a silent voice in this loud and crazy world. I see your desire to be heard. But I also see a desire I didn't quite expect… The desire to get revenge on the one who stole your voice from you.” Jameson swallows and his hand flies up to his neck, where a bright painful-looking scar is present just below his collar.

“I can get you all of that,” Phantom whispers in Jameson’s ear, “With my power, you can have everything you need to be heard, to cause pain to those that hurt you. And to provide peace and protection to those you love…. Your magic won’t be feeble little party tricks anymore.” He slowly grabs Jamie’s arm and brings it up and positions his fingers to snap. Once Jamie’s fingers click together a bright teal flame bursts forth and Jamie stares in awe.

“You can have power unlike the world has ever seen, Jameson…” He grins as he lets Jamie go and the man stares at his hand in wonder. Phantom starts to see a red glint flicker in his eyes and the con man smiles. “You can do everything you want, and free your friend. And you can make sure nothing can hurt them again. All you gotta do,” He snaps and a scroll and quill appears and the paper unfurls itself in front of Jamie, "...is sign.”

“Dammit!” Jackie shouts and throws his earpiece, “We lost him!” Marvin swallows and tries to use his mental link again. But all he gets in response is white noise. Marvin’s hands are shaking and he has a pit in his stomach. He needs to get there and save Jamie.

He pushes himself up and grabs Jackie’s and Chase’s hands. He then closes his eyes and suddenly Chase disappears from sight.

“Marvin?! What are you doing?” Chase wonders, his body now invisible.

Marvin mumbles, “I can only keep up this spell for so long, Brody. If Phantom gets me… You need to be fast and find the contracts okay? But we gotta get to Jamie now.” Marvin squeezes both of their hands as he squeezes his eyes shut and quickly transports them to the shop in a poof of green and blue smoke.

Jameson reaches for the quill as if in slow motion, clearing trying to fight to smoke’s influence. But Phantom knows he’s won. The gentleman takes the quill and shakingly goes to put the quill to the paper. But then the room explodes into a mix of red and green smoke.

Jackie springs out of the smoke as soon as he can and fans it away, “Get away from him Phantom!” he cries and Phantom whips around. Jameson pays them no heed and continues to stare at the paper.

“Ah, so the cavalry arrives,” Phantom laughs, “ And I see you brought back something that belongs to me!” Phantom clears the smoke away to see Marvin, glaring at him with glowing blue eyes. But his whole body is shaking like a leaf.

“Hello again, my little Magnificent,” Phantom smirks, “I often forget how strong your will is…. Trying to get you back to me was quite the task. And yet... Here you are.”

Marvin grits his teeth, “You’re not gonna win Phantom! I’m stronger than you! And you’re gonna pay for hurting my friends!”

“Oh? Am I? Cuz I think it’s you, that’s gonna hurt your friends,” Marvin freezes as Phantom holds the scepter towards him. Inside the crystal ball, Marvin swears he sees an outline of his broken self staring out at nothing. Then it turns and regards him with pitch red eyes. Marvin stumbles backward and nearly toppled over one of the decorated tables nearby, unable to breathe. Marvin’s vision starts to turn red and he gasps out loud, trying to fight it.

Jackie gasps and rushes over to Marvin and yanks on his arm, trying to get him to snap out of it. “Don’t give in Marvin! C’mon fight it!!”

Marvin grits his teeth, “I-i’m t-trying…” He grips his hands into tight fists, trying and trying to keep his thoughts his own. But before he knows it, he’s throwing a red-tinted punch straight into Jackie’s stomach, sending him flying across the room to crash against a wall.

Marvin feels his body moving on its own, marching its way back towards Jackie. His arm readies another blast. But Marvin quickly shouts out loud and uses his other hand to grab the other, trying to keep the hand from outstretching to the hero. Marvin feels sweat start to run down his face from the effort, but he refuses to budge.

Phantom growls and slinks back to Jameson. The gentleman is still stuck in the same place, but the sounds of his friends fighting seemed to have woken him up. His hand still hovers over the dotted line, shaking and trying to pull back from signing.

“Jamie,” Phantom softly calls to him before he grabs his shoulders from behind and whispers to him, “Do you really want your friends to take your dreams from you? They’re trying to keep you stuck in the same place..” He waves his hand and scarlet smoke gathers around, “Why don’t you show them just how powerful you can be without them?” The smoke curls around Jamie’s face before it dives straight into Jamie’s mouth. Jameson gags and coughs, tears springing up in his eyes. He tries to retch, tries to get the smoke to go back out of him but soon he stills. He regards Phantom with cloudy dull eyes and Phantom smirks.

“Prove yourself to me, won’t you Jackson?” Jameson nods and turns to see where Marvin is still fighting against Phantom’s control and Jackie is struggling to get back on his feet. He opens up his palm towards them before the two are knocked apart by a brilliant flash of teal.

Jackie slides across the floor, almost flying out the parlor door. He rubs his head and catches his breath, but soon he’s lifted up into the air. He sees that Jamie is holding him up in his blue light, eyes cloudy and distant.

“J-Jamie!” He tries to call, but soon he’s shoved against the wall by the force of the magic. Jameson dives after him and wraps his hands around Jackie’s neck, starting to choke him. Jackie coughs and tries to fight back, but Jamie is too strong. Stronger than Jackie has ever seen the small dapper man to be.

“D-Don’t make me.. Hurt you... JJ!” Jackie whimpers, trying to kick and claw at the gentleman’s hold. Jamie doesn’t respond, except for grabbing the hero’s neck tighter. Jackie yells out in pain and quickly powers up his foot and jams it into Jamie’s ribcage, sending him crumbling to his knees. Jackie slides down the wall, his vision foggy as he swallows up any air he can get.

Marvin flew in the opposite direction, head hitting the wall filled with crystal balls. He barely has time to react before Phantom is shoving his foot into Marvin’s chest and pointing the crystal ball in between Marvin’s eyes.

“I think you forget your place, Magician,” Phantom sneers, “Or did you forget who you belong to?”

Marvin wheezes but manages to glare at Phantom as he spits, “I. belong. to. no one!”

Phantom regards Marvin coldly as he charges up his scepter with powerful red magic. Marvin cries out, his head filled with intense pressure, feeling ready to explode.

“Wrong answer,” Phantom bites back. He shoves the scepter into Marvin’s face and Marvin screams in agony, his body convulsing. The magician claws at his forehead, his hair, trying to fight the demon’s control.

“Now, let’s try again…” Phantom commands, “Who do you belong to?”

Marvin screams until his voice breaks. Then suddenly there’s a flash and Marvin’s head hits the floor with a dull thud, fight suddenly drawn out of him. He slowly turns to Phantom, his eyes red and glazed over.

“You..” Marvin whispers quietly. Phantom grins sinisterly and lets the magician up. “Good. Now help Jameson over there eradicate that useless hero. He’s been a pain in our side for far too long, wouldn’t you say, Magnificent?”

Marvin stands up on wavering legs, swaying like a man waking up from a dream. Then he stands at full height, hands filling with red magic. “Yes…” he mumbles distantly, “I’ll get rid of him…”

Marvin snaps his fingers and scarlet lightning flies across the room, striking Jackie in the shoulder.

The hero screams and falls to his side, holding his now injured arm and shaking slightly from the electricity. He can hear the smoking of his skin and his nerves feel like they’re on fire. He grits his teeth past the pain and tries to get up. But Marvin is there suddenly and he kicks the hero over and stomps on his throat, readying another blast to hit his face. Jackie chokes, trying to call out to his friend, but he can’t make a sound.

Phantom calls out from the back, draping himself across the couch, “Oh, don’t kill him just yet, Magnificent. Break him first, then we’ll kill him slowly. Have a little fun~!” Phantom cackles.

Marvin regards Jackie with a terrifying grin, his eyes glowing brighter. An unstable laugh starts bubbling up in the magician’s throat as he grabs Jackie and pulls him up before he throws him across the room. He catches the hero before he slams into a bookcase in his telekinesis before he slams him into the hardwood, over and over again. Marvin giggles madly, a crazed look on his face.

Phantom grins, pleased at the chaos before he gets back up, and wraps an arm around Jamie. “Now Jameson, let’s finish our deal, shall we?”

As soon as they appeared in the parlor, Chase had sprinted away to try to find the contracts. He was so thankful for all the smoke, and Marvin’s quick thinking about making him invisible. He only had a few seconds before someone would notice him, so he dived quickly behind the curtain Phantom had come from earlier. Chase found himself in a long narrow hallway, the path dark and dreary. He shivered slightly, the air feeling cold here. But he braced himself and trudged forward.

The first couple of doors led nowhere. There was a dressing room, a supply closet and a bathroom. Chase half expected one of these rooms to lead straight to hell, but these were too normal. Finally, he stopped by a door at the end of the hall that had a dull glowing light peaking underneath the crack.

“Bingo,” Chase whispered with a smile. He opened a door right as he heard Marvin scream.

He jumped and nearly bumped a couple of crystal balls off the wall. He stared down at his hands and realized he was visible again. He swallowed a lump in his throat. He needed to hurry.

The room was decorated much like the main parlor, walls lined in red velvet with gold decorations and spooky fake decor. But the room was also just shelves upon shelves. There were about a dozen other glowing orbs collecting dust, looking like they’d fit right into Phantom’s scepter. And there was over a hundred rolled-up scrolls lining the walls.

Chase timidly touched one of the orbs and was shocked backward by screams of terror of the souls trapped inside. Chase swallowed. He’d have to come back and save these people later.

He looked at the magnitude of contracts in the room and balked. Where would he even need to start? He could hear the sounds of pain and fighting back in the main room and he knew he was running out of time.

Then something in the corner caught his eyes. A scroll almost completely buried behind two others was glowing a faint red. Chase scrambled to pull it out, wincing as the others clattered to the floor. He quickly unfurled it and saw Marvin’s familiar messy signature lining the bottom.

Jackie coughed up blood when Marvin finally let him drop fully to the floor. He was wheezing and he felt the sharp pang of something that snapped in his chest. He coughed again and saw drops of blood leaking from his face. His nose was definitely broken and he was having trouble breathing. His arms threatened to give out on him as he shaking tried to sit up. He fell back down in a broken heap, hardly able to keep his eyes open.

The hero heard footsteps coming his way and he forced himself to open his eyes. He saw Marvin making his way towards him, hands fizzling with more magic. Jackie shakily tried to push himself back up but he kept falling down. He coughed and tried to find Marvin’s eyes.

“P-Please Marvin..” Jackie rasped, feeling blood running into his mouth from his broken nose,” Please s-stop..” Jackie’s arms gave out again but before he hit the ground, a foot caught him. He looked up and saw it was Marvin and for a second Jackie smiled, hoping he had come back to his senses.

But then he’s shoved to the side and the foot that caught him slams hard into his arm, and Jackie hears a sickening crack. He howls in pain and whimpers, cradling his arm. Marvin laughed maniacally as he opened up his palm and surrounded the broken arm in magic before he yanked back. Jackie screamed as Marvin threatened to pull his broken arm right out of its socket. 

Phantom has Jameson by the hand, leading him to put the quill to paper. Jameson looks about ready to sprawl his signature, his expression still distant.

Suddenly a loud bang echoes throughout the parlor as a bullet whizzes by Marvin and past Phantom’s ear. The bullet slices through the floating contract and it disappears in a cloud of smoke. Jameson crumbles to the floor, gasping for air with eyes cleared of fog. Phantom whips around in anger only to see he’s staring down the barrel of Chase Brody’s gun.

“Not another step Phantom,” Chase commands, holding a slightly glowing piece of paper. Marvin’s contract. Marvin stares at the contract, eyes flashing between red and blue as he regards it in desperation.

“Where did you get that?” Phantom spits, aiming his scepter to blast Chase away. But Chase locks his gun on Phantom’s head and tuts, “I wouldn’t if I were you. Do you really wanna see if magic beats a bullet, con man?”

Phantom growls, but slowly he smiles and begins to laugh, “What makes you think that you can break that contract so easily, Brody? It takes strong magic to best me.”

“Is that so?” Chase counters, “Cuz that contract you were trying to get Jamie to sign ripped just fine. So I’m sure I can just do … This!” Chase reaches down and uses his teeth to rip the contract in half.

“No!” Phantom screams, trying to reach out stop him, but as soon as the paper rips he falls to the floor, writhing in pain. Marvin drops too, gripping his chest and screaming, eyes blood red. Phantom grips his scepter to his chest as he battles the pain. A red light suddenly bursts forth from the orb and whizzes around before it ascends into the air. Phantom shouts and tries to catch it but it’s too fast. As it flies, it turns from blood red to a beautiful bright green-blue. Without much warning, it flies straight into Marvin’s chest. Marvin’s screaming stops as his eyes turn completely blue. He heaves the spot where the orb flew in glowing a soft blue and its spreads like veins throughout his body. Slowly, his eyes dim and Marvin falls over, eyes rolling back into the back of his head.

The room is silent for a few tense seconds before, “It was that FUCKING EASY?!” Jackie yells as he tries to sit up again. Chase bites back a laugh, but soon he’s laughing out loud. He can’t tell if it’s out of relief or terror though.

Phantom growls and tries to push himself up, but he falls over, looking pale and spent.

“y-You! You..can’t stop me… so easily!” He wheezes, shakily pointing his cane Chase’s way. “You.. can’t make me… disappear! I am PHANTOM!” As he shouts he manages to pull himself up just enough to charge up a shot at Chase. But suddenly a hard gold object cracks against Phantom’s head and he falls unconscious to the ground. Jameson stands above him, holding one of his decorations, breathing heavily.

Chase stares at him in awe, then beams at him. “Way to go, Jamie!” He quickly rushes over and wraps the small man in a giant bear hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay..”

Jamie blushes and tries to push Chase away. There’s a cough behind them as Jackie shakily tries to stand again.

“O-okay... Jamie’s okay. But I’m not…” He coughs up more blood and spits it out of his mouth, “Can we save the celebration for just a sec while we get me to a hospital?” Chase and Jamie break apart and quickly nod, Chase quickly calling Schneep while Jamie helps Jackie to stand. Chase gently scoops up Marvin as the sounds of sirens echo down the street and soon the boys are whisked away to the care of the good doctor.


	6. Aftershow

The hospital is buzzing despite it being so late at night. Jackie is immediately sped off to surgery to fix his many broken ribs and bones. Schneep goes out of his way to get a private room for Marvin to rest in, with extra beds for Jamie and Chase.

“I need to go help with the surgery… but you should be okay in here for now. Just keep an eye on Marvin, ja?” Schneep instructs, as he quickly grabs his tools and dawns a lab coat. Jamie and Chase nod tiredly and wave to him as he rushes off. They pull up chairs and beds close to Marvin’s bed to watch over him.

Yet, even as Marvin sleeps, he looks better than he has in months. His skin is no longer sickly pale but instead seems to be gaining color by the second. His hair too seems brighter than ever, a bright stark green much like tufts of fresh grass. It’s like he’s spent the last couple of weeks in a bad undersaturated Instagram filter.

Jamie smiles slightly as he sees Marvin is breathing fine and he looks healthy. He goes to get up but as he stands, his legs waver and his knees give out. Chase luckily has pretty good reflexes and manages to catch the mute man before he faceplants into the floor. Jamie blinks sleepily up at Chase and gives him an embarrassed smile.

“Bro… I think you should go lay down…” Chase quietly encourages as he helps Jamie up by the elbow and leads him over to one of the spare beds, “You went through a lot tonight too.” Jameson nods tiredly and climbs into the bed, and his eyes slip shut almost instantly. Chase chuckles slightly and smooths down his hair, removing his hat and laying it down next to the young ego. He makes his way back over to the chair next to Marvin’s bed and tiredly ruffles his hair, removing his own hat and laying on the edge of the bed. He watches his two friends sleep for as long as he can before he too admits he needs to sleep and rests his head by Marvin’s side.

Hours pass before Schneep quietly tries to roll in a bandaged up Jackie. Chase immediately springs awake as he hears the squeak of the wheels with a shout, “I’m awake!” Henrik pauses before he laughs slightly, “Indeed you are, my friend!”

Chase blushes slightly and coughs, pulling himself to his feet. He helps Schneep pull the gunnery to settle next to Marvin as he asks, “So how is he?”

“He’ll be fine,” Henrik explains as he hooks Jackie up to an IV, “His accelerated healing stopped his bleeding, and we managed to set his broken bones and such. I’m sure he’s been through much worse.”

Chase sighs in relief before he claps Schneep on the back, “Good work, Doc! Boy were we glad you were on call tonight.”

Henrik smirks and lightly punches Chase in the shoulder, “I’m always there for my friends, Brody. But now,” The doctor yawns and rubs at his eyes under his glasses, "I’m off to sleep before my next shift.” Henrik turns and gives Chase a smile, “You should sleep too. And might I suggest a bed this time?”

Chase snorts and waves him off, “I’ll consider it. Go get some rest.” Chase watches him leave before he goes to check on Jackie. The superhero is breathing softly, covered in band-aids, and cleaned of blood. He’s covered in bruises with a split lip and a black eye. But Schneep was right, he already looks well on the way to recovery. Chase scoffs, slightly jealous. He was always in awe of his friends’ abilities. KInda made what he could do pale in comparison. He shrugs off those bad thoughts as he settles back into his chair, settling himself against the wall to doze off till one of them wakes up.

Sunlight filters through the windows as morning dawns and tiredly three of the four boys slowly wake up. Jackie pushes himself up by shaky arms before he admits defeats and plops back against his pillows with a soft “ow”.

Chase is by his side in a second, carefully checking over the IV before he gives Jackie a smile, “How ya feeling there tiger?”

Jackie gives a small laugh and rolls his eyes, “Could you sound any more like a dorky dad?” Chase sticks out his tongue, “I am a dorky dad!”

Jamie stiffly climbs off his bed and makes his way over to Jackie. He timidly meets his eyes before he reaches and ghosts his hand over Jackie’s neck, where deep purple bruises are visible under his gown. Jamie sniffs slightly, feeling guilty for hurting the hero. Jackie smiles softly and takes Jamie’s hand.

“Hey man, don’t worry. I know you didn’t mean to do it. So don’t blame yourself okay?” Jamie blinks before he leans down and gives Jackie a big hug around his neck. Jackie gasps a little in pain and pats the mute man on the back, “o-okay buddy I love you too but ouch! Stil healing!” Jameson backs up and signs apologies hurriedly but Jackie just laughs. Chase smiles and ruffles the younger ego’s hair.

Their laughter dies as they hear a soft murmur from Marvin’s bed. The boys all share a glance before they make their way over to Marvin’s side, Jackie limping and holding onto Chase to keep himself up. Marvin stirs and slowly opens his eyes, blinking at the bright sunlight. He gazes out unfocused and the others look at each other warily.

“Uh, Marv?” Jackie pipes up, “How.. how you feeling?”

Marvin takes a second to answer, blinking a lot and dawning a strange expression. Finally, he mutters quietly, “Magnificent…”

The boys all spring back away from Marvin’s bed, eyes alight with horror and dread gripping their hearts. Then suddenly, Marvin is laughing. A good natural laugh, one they hadn’t heard in a long time.

“Oh man,” He wipes away a tear as he holds his stomach and sits up, “I’m sorry I couldn’t resist! You should have seen the looks on your faces!!”

Jamie frowns dramatically and knocks his fists against Marvin’s arm, quickly signing, “Mean! Mean!!” Marvin keeps laughing as he spews apologies.

Chase lets himself laugh too even though Jackie doesn’t look like he took the joke too well. Chase moves over and lays a hand on Marvin’s shoulder, smiling warmly.

“It’s… it’s good to have you back, Marv.”

Marvin gives him a big grin and the boys finally feel themselves relax, glad to see Marvin happy and back to being his goofy jokester self.

“It’s good to be back!”

—-

Phantom is shoved into a dark cell and struggles to get up as he hears the screech of metal behind him.

“Enjoy your stay, freak,” The guard spits as he locks the cell and stalks off. Phantom growls to himself as he stands and brushes dust off himself. He pushes back his hair and tries to straighten his uniform. He shifted uncomfortably as the rough fabric of the prison garb rubbed against his skin. He wrings his hands together nervously, his hands aching for the familiar smoothness of his scepter.

There’s a rustle behind Phantom that has him spinning to come face to face with a large similarly dressed man.

“Ah, so we got fresh meat in here huh?” He rasps and Phantom gulps slightly.

“They.. they didn’t tell me I would be getting a roommate,” Phantom stammers, eyes darting back behind him.

The man scoffs and moves back to lay down on one of the beds, “You’re in for a rough time in here, pretty boy.”

Phantom runs his hands through his hair nervously before an idea pops into his head. He then changes dementor on a dime, confidently striding over and flopping onto the bed across from his new roommate.

“Well, bud. Since it seems like we’ll be spending a lot of time together, why don’t we try to get to know each other?”

The other prisoner is silent for a minute before he sighs, “Fine. Guess it couldn’t hurt.”

A sinister smirk spreads across Phantom’s face and he leans forward, propping his arm on top of his knee. His eyes alight red and it seems almost like red smoke starts to slither around him.

“Got any dreams, big guy?”


	7. Written in the Cards

Jackie was filling his utility belt with everything he would need for a mission: bandages, pain relievers, smoke bombs, and a sam keychain for good luck. He double-checked to make sure his suit was fine, his armor adjusted right and his beaten-up shoes were tied. He nodded but paused. His whole body felt stiff and tired, even though it had been so long since that last fight with Phantom. Maybe he had been going too hard too fast? He shook that thought off with a small laugh. A hero never rests, too many people to save.

He moves to head out from the balcony door and has just started to climb over the gate when he hears the front door rattle before it’s swung open, revealing a breathless red-faced Marvin, mask pushed up on his head.

“Jackie!” Marvin called, pushing back his sweaty hair as he stepped into their apartment hideout and Jackie’s body tensed. He looked out at the street below in longing but knew that he was caught.

“Ah, hey Marv!” Jackie smiled nervously. Marvin approached him and settled his hands on his hips.

“Get down from there Jackie, we gotta talk,” Marvin ordered, giving Jackie a withering look. The hero sighed and lowered himself from the balcony edge and timidly approached the magician.

Marvin swallowed as he noticed Jackie wouldn’t meet his eyes. “You… you keep leaving for missions without me. Without even telling me. Why…?” Marvin tries to keep the hurt out of his voice but he sees Jackie flinch slightly and knows he’s failed.

Jackie quietly picks at the bits on his suit before he answers, “It’s nothin’.”

“Bullshit,” Marvin accused, “You’re avoiding me and I wanna know why!”

Jackie winces again and grits his teeth before he snaps, “I said it's nothin’!”

“Stop lying to me! Jackie we’re friends please just be honest with me!” Marvin pleaded, trying to reach out to Jackie’s shoulder. The hero stumbles backward and finally meets Marvin’s eyes. He looks terrified.

Jackie takes a shaky breath but he spits, “Fine. You want the truth? I just wanna work alone for a while!” Marvin’s face falls.

“Why…?” He pleaded.

The hero’s shoulders fell and he looked at the floor, “Don’t make me say it Marv…”

Marvin balks and tries to think and gasps once he realizes, “Is it because of what happened with Phantom? T-That wasn’t me Jackie! You know that! And I already apologized like a thousand times!!”

“It’s not just that,” Jackie said dryly, rubbing his face. He looked so exhausted, “I just… You’ve gone through so much shit lately Marvin. I don’t want to add onto that.”

The magician blinked, confused, “But I’m doing so much better now! I feel stronger than I’ve ever had!” Marvin lets his hands fall to his sides, crestfallen, “I just want to help…”

Jackie smiles and lightly pats Marvin on the shoulder, “I know you do buddy. But let’s just give it some time, okay?” Jackie then springs back up to the balcony as he calls behind him, “I’ll catch you later!” Then he plunges off the edge and goes off to find a crime to fight, leaving behind a downcast Marvin. Marvin headed back to his own apartment with a heavy heart.

Hours passed and Marvin flung the cards he was working with for a new trick onto the coffee table in frustration. He got up and started pacing, trying to think about what could be making Jackie act this way. He’s never denied his help before, Marvin knew what a hard job crime-fighting was. Marvin sighed and grumbled slightly to himself, “Something is wrong… or am I crazy?” He shook his head and messed up his hair, “I should ask Schneep, maybe this is a side effect of everything?” He shrugs to himself, “worth a try ain’t?”

Marvin makes his way to the hospital, knowing Schneep would either be here in his office or at home passed out. How the guy survived with a job like this, Marvin would never know. He walked inside and made his way down to the offices, quietly knocking outside the office marked Henrik Von Schneeplestein MD. But there’s no response, even though the lights seem to be on from the soft glow emanating from the frosted glass. Marvin frowns and tries again.

“Henrik? You there?”

More silence greeted him. The magician reached for the doorknob to see if it was locked, only to feel a shock go up his hand. He knew this feeling. Someone had opened this door with magic. Powerful, familiar magic.

Marvin bursts through the door to find the office in shambles. Equipment has been strewn across the floor, medicine spilled, and scalpels and rolls of gauze everywhere. Chairs that lined the walls are flipped and tossed around. Schneep’s desk is a mess, papers thrown all over, pens cracked and spilling ink. Marvin’s heart is hammering in his chest. His foot touches a syringe lying on the floor filled with brightly glowing liquid. Next to a trail of blood dripping from the tip. Marvin picks it up and studies it, hardly able to breathe. His fingers tingle with another sensation of the magic he felt earlier and he furrows his brow. Schneep most likely would have used this in self-defense, why would his attacker enchant it? Marvin closes his eyes to figure out what kind of magic was used and feels the true shape of the object. He pulls the veil away and reveals that the syringe was a disguise for something else.

An ace of spades.

Marvin’s blood runs cold. He knows the symbolism of cards. The ace of spades, also known as the card of death. What could this mean? Is Schneep… dead?

Why would Phantom kill Schneep? How did he escape?

While those were important questions another popped into his head and sent a shiver down his spine: Was he going to go after the others?

Marvin quickly stuffed the card into his pocket and rocketed out of the room and down the hall. He had to find Jamie and Chase!

Jamie’s building was close by, a nice brick covered building that reminded Marvin of something out of a 30’s cartoon. Afraid of being spotted Marvin closed his eyes and shifted into the form of a black and white cat. He then sped up the stairs and searched for Jamie’s room.

He found the room number and noticed the door was cracked open. He swallowed and used his head to push open the door. The front room was dark, a lamp smashed against the ground, sending glass across the floor. There looks like there was less of a struggle here, just a couple of objects crashed against the floor. Marvin accidentally walks across a smashed frame and he yelps slightly as the glass slices through his paw. He licks the wound before he nudges the picture to see what it was. In it, Jamie has his arm looped around another man that looks like Jack, but his face is covered in ink and he can see the hint of a character in the background he swears he recognizes from somewhere.

He’s distracted from his thoughts as something shines in the light in front of him, hidden under a table as if flung under there. Marvin pads over to it to see it’s Jamie’s pocket watch. He grabs it in his mouth before he gets back out and returns to his human form. The watch pulses with magic and Marvin uses his trick before to reveal its true form. An ace of hearts.

Marvin blinks as the card is different this time. The ace of hearts doesn’t have the significance of the ace of spades but there were ways to interpret it. The ace represents hidden desires. The heart represents lightheartedness and childishness. Jamie to a T.

Marvin didn’t understand. Was this supposed to mean Jamie was dead like Schneep? Or just a calling card that was here?

There wasn’t any time to waste however so Marvin hid away the card with the other one, once he was sure the coast was clear. Marvin then turned back into his cat form and headed out of the apartment and back towards the street, heading for Chase’s apartment.

Chase lived near the outskirts of the city, close to the suburbs. Probably so he was close to his kids after the split. Marvin knows his way to his room well, going there often for tea breaks and advice from his fatherly friend. He climbs up the stairs on auto-pilot and finds himself at his door faster than he expected. Marvin shudders as he sees the hint of bullets shattered into the door. He taps the door with his paw and the door swings open with an eerie creak.

Marvin’s hackles raise with the amount of magic spewed in here. He sees scorch marks lining the wall, some still smoking even. The tv in the living room is sideways and skipping as it sparks, the screen ringing with static. The whole room is cast in black and white noise as Marvin crosses silently across the floor. A couple of tea cups are smashed on the floor, some tea pooling under a couple. An array of nerf darts litter the floor and Marvin prays that’s from Chase playing with his son and it wasn’t something he used for defense against the con man.

Marvin’s foot knocks against another picture frame smashed against the ground. He turns it over and sees a picture of Chase with his family, smiling wide and laughing. Marvin feels that magic again and presses a paw against the surface and watches as it reverts into another card.

The king of hearts. The suicide king.

A crash in the bedroom has Marvin’s head jerking up and he’s leaping across the floor towards the sound. He screeches across the floor and stops when he sees the source.

Two small kids had tumbled out of the room, the boy holding out a nerf gun like he’s ready to fire despite his knees shaking and his sister clinging to his leg. The boy lowers the gun in confusion and sniffles, a bright purple bruise on his cheek.

“It’s a cat?”

Marvin drops his cat form and slowly rises up to his feet, “Kids, oh my god are you alright?” Marvin didn’t even realize it was the weekend.

“Uncle Marvin!” The boy cries and soon he’s wrapped around Marvin’s leg and sobbing, his little sister taking the other one. Marvin’s heart melts and he leans down and scoops the kids up into a warm hug.

“Greyson… Skylar… Can you tell me what happened?”

The little girl, Skylar, clings and hides her face in Marvin’s arms, shaking her head and shivering. Greyson slowly forces himself to talk through his tears, “M-me and daddy were h-having a nerf war while Sky watched c-cartoons. Then all of a sudden a man burst in with scary red eyes! And a scary cane! Then Daddy was p-pulling outa gun a tried to shoot the bad guy but he turned into scary s-smoke! Then someone grabbed m-me and Sky and held us tightly and the bad guy pointed to us…” The boy’s body shook so bad as he tried to remember and he’s clinging to Marvin’s shirt like it's a lifeline. “He… he said he was gonna kill us and m-mommy unless Daddy signed s-something! A w-weird paper and Daddy looked scared. H-he started to cry and asked the bad man not to hurt us, then the guy holding us threw us in the bedroom and locked us in. I h-hit my face on the floor…” He rubs his face to wipe his tears.

Marvin’s head is spinning. Why wasn’t he faster? Why couldn't he get here in time? But at least now Marvin knew Phantom wasn’t killing them. He wasn’t sure he felt much better though, knowing they were being forced to sign deals with that devil.

He quietly shushed the kids and held them tighter, stroking their hair.

“It’ll be okay little dudes… I’m gonna take you home… and your mommy will make everything better,” His mouth felt funny saying such nice things about Stacy but the kids didn’t need to hear his disdain for the bitch right now.

“W-What about Daddy?” Greyson asked, blinking up at Marvin. He tugged on Marvin’s sleeve and whispered, “Are you save him, Uncle Marvin?”

The magician swallowed and nodded, petting Greyson’s hair, “Yes. I’m gonna bring him home safe.”

Marvin struggled to think of a plan as he calms the kids down. One part of Greyson’s story stuck out in Marvin’s head.

“Say, kids… Did you get a chance to see who the other person with the bad guy was?”

Greyson shook his head and rubbed his bruised cheek, “No… I hit my face when he shoved us in…”

Marvin looked over to Skylar and rubbed comforting circles into the small girl’s back. “Did you see Sky?” The little girl slowly nods her head. Marvin picks her up so he can see her better and balances her on his lap, “Can you tell me, sweetie? It’s going to help me find your Dad faster.”

Skylar takes a while to respond, picking at her tea-stained dress. Then suddenly she whispers, “U-Uncle Jackie…”

“What?” Marvin cries in disbelief, staring wide-eyed at Skylar, “A-are you sure?” The girl nods again and finally looks Marvin in the eye. She points to her own eyes and mumbles quietly, “He had evil eyes.” Marvin shuddered as he figured out what that meant.

Marvin gathers the kids and their stuff up in his arms and grabs the ominous card as he prepares a teleportation spell. He can’t use it often as it drains a lot of his magic but he figures he’ll only need to use it one more time to figure out what he needs to.

He gets an earful from Stacy as he drops off the kids but he quietly scolds her, telling her this isn’t the time. Chase was in danger. That shut her up. He promises her and the kids that he’s going to save him before he disappears in a poof of green and blue smoke.

When Marvin next opens his eyes he’s in Jackie’s apartment. He was only here a few weeks ago but it feels like forever. HIs apartment though is just the same as when Marvin last left it. No struggle, no broken furniture, and knick-knacks. Marvin balks at the change of pattern. He walks around the apartment to look for a clue and finds one way too easily. One of Jackie’s masks lays on the table and as soon as Marvin touches it transforms into one last card, the king of diamonds.

Marvin struggles to think of the symbolism for this one. It’s a perfectly normal card. He walks over to the couch and sets the card on the coffee table before adding the others to the pile. He spreads them out and struggles to think about what they could mean.

As soon as all four are displayed and touching, a red light engulfs them, and new shape forms. A fresh card appears in front of the pile, an ace of diamonds. Marvin’s personal favorite card to use in tricks. A shiver goes down his back as he picks it up. A small streak of lightning streaks from the card and hits the tv in front of Marvin, making it flicker to life. Through the static, a scene like one from a security camera plays. But it’s red-tinted and curved at the corners. It’s like looking through Phantom’s scepter.

The scene shows a dark alley and the camera shifts to show a shot of Phantom and a small army of what looks like escaped prisoners, their eyes glinting red. Marvin’s heart stops.

There’s a shout and the camera shifts again to show a red hooded figure landing heroically in front of the group. He straightens and stands tall but his eyes betray fear.

“Phantom,” Jackie spits, “how… how the hell did you escape prison?”

The con man chuckles off-screen but it still sends shivers down Marvin’s spine.

“Well hello to you Jackieboy man! Have you met my friends?” He teases. Jackie’s eyes narrow and he growls.

“Did you seriously enslave an entire prison? You are such a sick freak!” Jackie gets into a fighting stance his eyes glowing green, “Release these prisoners now Phantom! So I don’t haveta kill ya!”

Phantom tuts, tapping against his cane and the camera shakes. “I thought heroes don’t kill though. Do you really want my blood on your hands? I’m just doing what I was made to do, just like you.”

“Don’t compare me to you! We’re nothing alike!” Jackie snarls, eyes glowing brighter. Phantom laughs in return.

“Oh of course you and me are as different as can be. But we are bound to what we’re created to do. You were made to be a hero, and I was made to make people’s dreams come true. So that’s what we do.”

“You trick people into giving you their talents and their souls,” the hero spits, “that’s not making dreams come true, you bastard. You ruined my best friend’s life!”

Phantom sighs, “you don’t know how I make all my deals, kid. Marvin was a runaway debtor that had to be dealt with and get his due. He’s paid it now so I’ll leave him alone.” Jackie gives him a skeptical look but it seems to be considering his words. Marvin’s heart is hammering in his ears.

“I still don’t trust you,” Jackie mutters after a few tense seconds. Phantom laughs, “you don’t have to trust me, kid. But you don’t want to fight me.”

Jackie seems to agree to that but tries not to let his face show it. But Phantom can see right through him.

“Listen, kid, I understand why you do what you do. You wanna protect people, that’s admirable! But what I’m doing doesn't need to involve you or anyone you’re protecting. But I’ll compromise with ya. If you leave me to my business, I swear I won’t touch your precious friends. And you can keep on being the hero you always were. No one has to know you let one shadow get away. Cuz you really don’t want to fight me, kid, you’re gonna lose.” Phantom’s hand enters the frame of the camera, “So whatdya say, kid? Got a deal?”

Jackie bites his cheek and looks conflicted but eventually, his shoulders fall and he sighs and strides over to Phantom. He extends a hand and meets Phantom’s and Marvin screams at the tv as Jackie mouths, “Deal.”

The screen turns to static and Marvin pounds against the tv. He feels tears of despair well up in his eyes. Phantom was taking everything from him. He leans his head against the screen, falling slowly to his knees.

His ears perk up as he hears the static clear and a new video plays. The timestamp says it happened earlier tonight.

The scene is close to the glowing neon sign of a bar and Jackie drops down into the frame again, looking as equally as surprised as last time but his stance betrays his exhaustion and you can see how tired his eyes look even from this distance.

“Phantom,” he stammers, “what the hell? How did you escape?!”

“Ah, Jackie!” Phantom greets and Marvin can just hear the smugness in his voice. “You’re late, kid.”

“What the hell are you going on about?” Jackie sneers. He starts to look nervous as Phantom cackles madly.

“I always forget how well that little memory trick of mine works! C’mon Jackaboy it’s only been a couple of days.” Phantom laughs. Jackie takes a step back with a look of horror on his face. His eyes flash red and he stumbles, gripping his head.

“W-what the fuck?!” He whispers, his hands shaking. “What d-did you do to me?!”

Phantom chuckles darkly, “A deal’s a deal, Jackie.”

Jackie seems to tense up, all his muscles going stiff as he seems to be pulled towards Phantom. He grits his teeth, trying to fight the movement but it’s clear he can’t. Finally, he stops right in front of the camera, where Marvin assumes Phantom is. A hand reaches out and grabs Jackie’s chin and tilts it from side to side.

“How do you still have so much fight left in you?” Phantom muses. Jackie snarls through a pained expression. “This has to be like the fifth time I’ve had to fix that memory problem of yours after we finish our jobs.”

Jackie spits, “W-why are you doing this? You’re already free! Why do you need me?”

Phantom pauses for a second before a flash of red as Jackie crying out and falling to his knees. Phantom moves forward slightly.

“Well for starters, it ain’t bad to have a super-strong good-doer around to help me steal shit and beat down whoever’s in my way,” The sneaky conman grins before he pauses.

“I thought I just needed more powerful little puppets to gain greater magic…” He mutters, “But even with an entire army and a deal with you, I still felt I was lacking.” Phantom leans down more and grabs Jackie by his hair and tilts his head as he grins sadistically, “I need that whiny little magician back. He’s stronger than I ever realized. I want my Magnificent back.”

He lifts Jackie up to his feet by his hair and the hero cries out as Phantom sings into his ear, “But that little coward won’t come back to me willingly. So you and your little friends are gonna help me.”

Jackie snarls through gritted teeth at the conman, “Your deal said you wouldn’t hurt em!”

Phantom’s laugh causes Marvin to go cold, “I’m not gonna hurt them. You are.”

Phantom snaps his fingers and Jackie seized up with a strangled gasp. His eyes twitched as he tried to fight but it wasn’t long till the color left his eyes and a red glint appeared. Phantom cackled maniacally as he grabbed the scepter and started to walk away.

“Come along hero, we got some more puppets to collect~!”

The video started to shatter back into static as Marvin saw the form of his best friend follow obediently after Phantom. Marvin felt hot tears leaking down his cheeks as he hung his head against the screen. His whole body felt numb. All this was happening because of him.

“You have 24 hours~” A voice sang through the screen and Marvin jumped back, seeing only static. He felt a twinge of magic at his fingers and looked down to see the ace of diamonds card he held now had an address on the back.

The screen fizzled and skipped before a familiar face broke through, grinning wolfishly.

“Here’s what I’m offering, Marvin. Come and surrender yourself to me in 24 hours, and I’ll release your friends to go live their lives. Hell, I’ll even erase their memories so they won’t suffer having lost you. But if you fail to come by then… well they won’t feel anything. But I think you’re intelligent enough to figure out what I’ll do.” The video of Phantom starts to shift back to static so that Marvin can really only make out Phantom’s bright smile and eerie scarlet eyes.

“See you soon, Magnificent.”

Then the TV does dark.


	8. An Ace up the Sleeve

Marvin stares down at the cards on the table numbly. He glances at the address on the back of the ace of diamonds for what feels like the millionth time as his mind struggles to think of a plan. What the hell was he gonna do?

He finally pushes himself up from the table and starts pacing around the apartment while mumbling quickly to himself, “If I give myself up… I’m basically dead… they’re be no saving me this time… but if I go in and try to break Phantom’s control they’ll-!” He hits the sides of his head and cries out in frustration.

“I have all this power and yet I’m still powerless!” Marvin growls to himself but his voice breaks through his anger. A tear falls down his face and drips to the floor with a wet splash. He stares down at the stained floor and holds back a sob as sadness takes over his body. He falls down to his knees, thinking of his friends.

Of Schneeplestein, wrapping up his and Jackie’s injures and scolding them, but with a hint of amusement and pride in his eyes. Of his proud stance and the way he carries himself with confidence, the way Marvin wishes he could. He thinks of Jamie coming over to learn sleight of hand tricks for his new videos with Jack, his eyes lighting up when he could make things appear in a poof of smoke. HIs silent laughter and the way he wiggles his mustache. He thinks of Chase and the gentle way he smiles when he listens to Marvin’s problems over a hot cup of tea. The way he laughs and holds his kids, the way he cares for everyone. Then he thinks of Jackie, his best friend. His selflessness, his determination, his positivity, His laugh, his humor, his stupid too caring heart.

Marvin cries out and slams his fist against the floor. “Fuck!” He bites back another sob as more and more tears drip onto the floor. He curls in on himself and holds his arms against himself as his body shakes.

“This is all my fault!” He sobs into his chest, “This is all my fault….”

“Why did I ever listen to Phantom? Why did I ever trust him?!” Marvin takes a shuddering breath as images flash through his head. A past he tried so desperately to forget.

_It was right after he was created. When the fans gave him a name. Sean told Marvin to go off into the world to make something of himself. Just so long as you don’t go around pretending to be me, he joked and Marvin smiled. No, he wasn’t going to be Jack, he was gonna be Marvin. He was gonna be a magician._

_But it was tough to start out as a new figment in a new city with no idea what to do. Where do you start? He spent months working in magic shops, trying to gather money to get more kits. All while practicing with his own feeble and chaotic magic that just never seemed to work the way he wanted it to. He was frustrated and self-conscious. He wasn’t even good enough to be a magician in Jack’s video… how was he gonna become a great magician on his own? At least the other figments Jack kept thinking of had families or were heroes or… well whatever Anti was. Marvin just had his magic and his cat mask, and he wasn’t even good at magic._

_Then one night a bar nearby where he worked was having an open talent show. This could be his chance! He quickly signed up and spent a week practicing every trick he knew. He felt confident, he was going to wow everyone._

_The bar was fuller than Marvin ever expected. He’d never performed in front of a live audience before. Jack’s videos were just him... Now the audience had a face. And judging eyes. He swallowed and pushed himself onto the stage, proudly announcing himself to be Marvin the Magnificent. He tried all his tricks and small flashy magic with a nervous smile. But his stage fright was so bad none of his tricks landed the way he wanted. He received lukewarm applause and his head fell as he took off the stage and quietly made his way outside. He sniffled, feeling like a failure as he sat down on the curb and threw his mask onto the ground._

_Suddenly a hand is touching his shoulder and Marvin reels back and scrambles away. A tan-skinned man in a red shirt and classy vest gives him a smile and leans down on a strange cane he has in his hands._

_“Hey Kid,” He says as he throws his head back towards the bar, “You put on quite the show.”_

_Marvin scoffs and rolls his eyes, “Oh shove off, I sucked.” He sighs heavily and leans down on his knees and wipes at his nose._

_The man steps up behind him and clears his throat, “Kid, every starting magician goes through something like this. But I can tell you have potential… and big dreams.” The man leans down and offers a hand to Marvin, which also has a business card in it. The card has Phantom Dream Emporium written on it in a fancy font that shines in the dim light from the bar._

_“I help starting performers get on their feet and realize their dreams,” He explains with a gentle smile. Marvin stares at the card and ponders. “I can show you how to have better control of your magic, then you could really become something great. You could really become Magnificent.”_

_Marvin grips the card in his hands and feels something strange…. He laughs and leans back, giving the man a cheeky smile, “Where do I sign?”_

_Phantom and Marvin become inseparable after that. Maybe it was because Phantom was a figment too, someone else just trying to fulfill their purpose outside their creator’s sphere of influence. Phantom was his own kind of magician, things just managed to go right around him. Marvin’s magic got better and better, audiences became less scary. There was applause and bright stage lights and laughter and flowers and costumes and standing ovations. Soon Marvin felt like a true magician. It was all thanks to Phantom._

_One night Phantom actually showed up backstage before a show and Marvin greeted him excitedly. This was his first truly high-profile show and he was bursting with joy._

_Phantom smiles and pats Marvin on the shoulder, “Go knock em’ dead kid. You’ve earned it! But make sure you come to see me after that show okay? I got something to show ya.”_

_Marvin nods and grins, “You got it!”_

_The show went fantastically and Marvin was on cloud nine as he took his armful of flowers and goodies thrown to him from the stage to go find Phantom. The man was leaning up against the wall in the back of the theater, stroking the ball on his staff. Marvin laughed somewhat nervously as he approached._

_“You were hard to find. Why did you wanna meet back here?”_

_Phantom just smirks and leans over to open the door to the alleyway, “I didn’t want anyone else to see my surprise.”_

_Marvin gives him a strange look as he goes outside into the rain. He shouts as the rain pelts his costume and turns around to yell at Phantom, “Hey! Couldn’t we do this inside-?” But he’s cut off as Phantom shuts the door behind him and gives Marvin a cold look. Marvin shudders involuntarily and steps back._

_“W-what’s with that face?” He asks with a nervous chuckle. Phantom shakes his head and gives Marvin a dead-eyed smile._

_“You’ve done well Marvin. You’ve got everything you’ve ever wanted, didn’t you?”_

_“W-well yeah… All thanks to you,” Marvin comments, holding his gifts closer and taking another step back. Phantom steps forward again and hums discontentedly as he taps his nails against the glass orb on his scepter._

_“And yet… I haven’t really gotten payment for all my hard work have I?” Phantom glares down at Marvin._

_The tiny cat masked magician swallowed before he spoke meekly, “Y-you never asked for payment… I thought you just wanted to help me… you know… make my dreams come true?”_

_Suddenly, Phantom throws back his head and laughs madly and Marvin jumps back in fear. When he next looks down at Marvin his eyes glow dark red._

_“Nothing in this world is for free, Marvin,” Phantom says as he spins his scepter around then points the ball at Marvin. “It’s time to collect what you owe me….”_

_“I-i don’t understand!” Marvin tries to argue but his eyes catch on the orb and he thinks he sees other faces in the reflection. Starry-eyed and gullible magicians, falling prey and being trapped by Phantom to collect payment. Marvin gasps sharply and backs up against the wall._

_“Figured it out have you?” Phantom cackles, “Your magic and fame aren’t yours Marvin. It all belongs to me…” He tilts his head and flashes another grin his way, “And now, so will you.”_

_Marvin suddenly feels something tug against his chest and he gasps. He feels a pull towards the scepter. He panics and cries out, dumping his gifts and throwing up his hands bursting with green-blue magic._

_“No!”_

_A blast of power bursts forth and knocks Phantom and his staff away. Phantom’s head hits the brick behind him with a sick and audible crack and he topples over to the side, blood dripping from his head and his eyes glassy. Marvin’s breathing quickens and he can’t hear anything over the sound of his heart hammering in his chest. He didn’t know he could kill another figment. He didn’t mean to kill him! But he was gonna- he was gonna seal him away. He was gonna take everything Marvin had._

_Marvin ran and ran after that, not even daring to go back to his home or jobs. He hid in the streets for a while, doing meager magic tricks in the street to earn a few pennies for food. But that didn’t last long. He had to result to stealing and running._

_Until Jackie found him._

_Jackie offered Marvin his hand even though he had caught Marvin stealing from a store._

_“Us figments gotta stick together, don’t you think?” Jackie grinned down at him, his smile so kind it threatened to blind Marvin, “Jack wouldn’t want you shivering out here in the cold.”_

_And suddenly Marvin was brought into Jackie’s life. He helped him back on his feet, let him use his magic to fight crime, introduced him to the other figments he’d only seen in Jack’s videos. Marvin finally had something he had been missing the whole time he worked with phantom… a family. A dream meant nothing if you had no one to share it with._

Marvin feels himself drawn back to the present with another heartbreaking sob.

“Jackie should have never found me that day…” He whimpers, “Then they’d be safe…” He hangs his head and grips his hands into fists as he shakes, “Why didn't Phantom stay dead?! Why did his fans bring him back? Phantom has taken everything from me….”

He finally lets himself sit quietly and just let his tears flow, letting the hurt and fear wash over him. After a couple of minutes though, he quiets and just listens to the room. The buzz of the tv catches his attention. He didn’t even notice that he left it on after Phantom’s message. He stands to go turn it off but suddenly stops. He stares at the static and an idea sparks in his head.

He rushes to Jackie’s kitchen and fumbles through the drawers looking for something. Finally, he managed to find it, a sharp kitchen knife. He heads back to the table containing the cards and hovers the knife over his hand, his arm shaking. Finally, he grits his teeth and slices down his palm, letting the blood fall onto the table in big heavy drips. He pants and stares at the cut and waits for something to happen.

“C’mon… c’mon!” He grunts, “I know this is how you’ve gotten to the others! This worked with Jamie!” He shouts towards the ceiling, gripping his bleeding hand. Nothing but silence answers back. Marvin shouts in anger and bangs against the table.

“Really? Does it really only work if I bleed on fucking pumpkins, you Halloween obsessed glitch bitch?!”

A high-pitched giggle echoes in Marvin’s left ear before a distorted voice answers on the right, “No, I just like to see you squirm~!”

Marvin cries out and falls over onto his side, gripping his hand against his chest.

Antisepticeye stands before him, his form glitching slightly never really seeming to stay in one place. The air fills with the scent of blood as the horrid wound on his neck drips and the blood collects on his shirt. The glitch reaches over to the table and takes the knife Marvin just used and tosses it up, letting the blade spin in the air before he catches it expertly. He studies and pricks his finger on the point before he finally regards Marvin with cold green septic eyes, the whites of his eyes black as night.

“So, kitten whiskers, ya got a ͖͕̦͙͌̉̏d̞͖͉̩͛͑̏̏e̞̤͙̦͐̊̚̚a̛̩̼̳̰͛͂̅t͚̯̲̂̓̎̅ͅh̟͉͖̺͋̓̓ ̧̟̮͍̽̾͑͆w͙͙̞̣̓͊̾̅ĭ̧̟͍̩͗̚s̢̭̗̞͊͊͐h̯̬̝̬̅͒́͠ ̨͓̭̗̂̇̃ǫ͕̝͓̀̊́r͔̤̝̐͌̆͘ͅ ̞̳̗̗̓̔͋s̨̭̩̖̈́̇̚͠ọ͕͉͙̎͊̓̕ḿ̢̱̫͛̓̊͜ë̡̝̺́͆̇̅ͅṯ͚̰̮̓͌̃̿ȟ̠̘̮̱̓̀͝i͓̟̞̔̋͂͒ͅņ̢̠͇̇͛͂̓g̩̪̘̪̓̓͋͐?̢̪̘̠͛̈́͂̑”


	9. Slight of Hand

Anti pushes forward towards the wide-eyed Marvin, twirling the knife in between his fingers and giggling madly. Marvin scoots away with fear in his eyes until his back bumps against the wall. Anti’s laughter echoes and grates in Marvin’s ears along with the sharp sound of glitching.

“What’s the matter? C̖̫̖̓͂a̡̛̳̯͆̀t͈͇̔̀͛͜ ̼̭͉̾̌̒g͓̳̯͛̑̔ǫ̜̬̀͗̕t̜̱̫̂́̑ ̲̦͓͗̈̿y̢͙̦͑̀ō̦͈̘͋û̞̲̯̉̉ȓ͍̬̲͝ ̼̲̗̊͌t͔̩̦͐̈́̾õ͈̲͈̍̋ṅ͍̯͙͒͗g̼͓͍̔̅̓ǔ̩̭̤̈́̉e͔̗͙͐̽̕?̛͙̱͖̀̅ ̛͉̳̓͐͜” the glitch giggles, “You has some reason to call me here so fucking spill it!” He growls, his eyes flashing pitch black.

“I-I,” Marvin stammers, dread sinking into his whole body. This was a bad idea.

Anti sarcastically mocks Marvin’s stammering as he strode forward and knocked over a chair, causing Marvin to wince and shrink in on himself.

“I haven’t got all day, cat mask,” Anti snarls as he flips the knife up into the air again. The light above the table flickers in and out with Anti’s form as he glitches in anger. Marvin quickly sits up taller and bursts out, “It’s the others!”

This gives Anti pause. Then he laughs and points the knife down at Marvin, getting uncomfortably close. “Why would I care about those useless bunch of copies?” He spits, taking another step forward and Marvin closes his eyes, fear clutching his heart.

“B-because someone is controlling them!” He cries, and pries open his eyes to see Anti has stopped. He brings his head up and his mouth feels foul as he breathes, “T-they… they’re taking your puppets away.”

A hand heavily thumps next to Marvin’s head against the wall and the cold tip of Anti’s blade is held under his neck as Anti hisses and leans in close, ‘W̜͔͖̼͐͌̏́ḩ̛̞̙̯̅̐́ö̤͈̗̫́̈́́̇?̡͍̗̺̎͑͑͌”

Marvin swallows but stares determinately at the glitch, “His name is Phantom.”

Anti’s eyebrows shoot up, “That little nobody figment of that singer?” Anti giggles and lifts up Marvin’s chin with the knife, reveling in the way Marvin’s face scrunches in discomfort, “You gotta be lying to me, kit kat. He doesn’t have that sort of power.”

“He’s stronger than you know!” Marvin wheezes, “He’s taken a whole army from his time in prison and he… he’s gotten all the other egos. And he won’t stop til…”

Anti tilts his head, “Until what?”

Marvin takes a shuddering breath, “Until he has me.” He stares down at the floor for a second before looking back at Anti with a renewed fire in his eyes, “I can’t stop him alone… i-i need your help.”

Anti stares at Marvin in semi-disbelief before he throws his head back in manic laughter.

“Me? Help you???” He holds his stomach as his whole body glitches in laughter, “You truly must be d̠͈̲̂͆̎͂ͅe̜̙̲̍̾͛̕ͅs̢̙̻̼̀͌̉̚p̗̣̲̗͛̄̅ê̟̖̦̼̒̓͝r͉̲̰͙̉̈́͑͘à̦͎̩́̂͘ͅţ͓̗͉̐̿͂e̹͇̩̘̋̀̇.”

Marvin pushes himself away from the wall and his eyes glow blue, “I’ll do anything to save them… even work with you.”

Anti smirks through his strangled laughter, “You got balls, Marv, I’ll give you that.” Anti stands up on his feet and flips the knife, “But working with me is gonna cost you something… w̡̡̟͍̽͑̉̿h̼̻͖͇͋̐̈̕ä̘͕͓̺́͋̆ť͔͈͇̩̂̕ ̻̹̜̠̄͆͛̚ą͕̰̞̋̑̓̌ŗ̟͉̻͋͛͊̍e̹̭͍͙͊̋̃̾ ̖̣̻̄̀́͘ͅy͇̰͚͚̽̓̀͘ǒ̜̱̼̪͌͛̓u̻̹̱̪͑̓̊͘ ̡̻̙̖̏̃̈͗w̖̩̜̗̔̇̕͝ì̡̗͕̺͑̌͛l̫̲̤̮̆̌̇͝l̪̹͎͈̄̈́͑̅ị̩̲̎͛͗̕͜n̢̺̹̖̐̇͐̋g̡͖͖̺̽̉͐͝ ̤̼̰̬̂̒͘t͙̻͔̪̾͐̾̎o̱̟̖͒̾͛͜͝ ̢̝̭̝͒͋̄̿p̧̺̳̘͗͛̊͝a̟̞̠̼͒̍̍͑y̹̘̭̮͌̏̿͒?̺̘͇̬̔̏̌͘”

Marvin grips his hands into fists and his shoulders shake, “I… I’ve given everything I’ve had to try to keep them safe…. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Y̠̝̻̿̇̔͜͝o̢͓̙̠̾̅͝͝u̦̱̞͔̇͌͘͠'̛̪͚̬͆̏͜͝r̙̤̘̜̾͐͂͘e̠͇̘͎̎̑͂ ̝̮̟̻̃̆͝͠g̖͙̺̮̈́̄̀͠ǫ͉͉̌̾̌̄ͅn͔̞̭̱̐̐̀̿n̢̼̤͔̉͒̍͝ą̞̲͂͂̕ͅ ̧̞̘̻̎͆͠ŗ̳̱̝̈́̎̿́e̡̙͕̠͗̉̒̚g̫͈̜̗͌̌͆͝ṙ̺̦͚͓̈̀e̗͍͉̣̔̾̌t̳͙͇̎̓̈́̇͜ ̛̖̯͈̘͑̊͠t̝̺̖̣͌̈́̎̑ĥ͚̞̹̍̏̀ͅō̖̹̹̤͐̊͝s̘̝͇̍͌͒ͅe̼̬͔̽̆̈͗͜ ̝̪̖̜̋̌͠w̡̰̟̗̏̊̾͂ǫ̢͚̭̾̅̄̏ȓ̡̨̥̀̋͑ͅd̳̯̟͈͊̔̇͛s̡̢̛̮͉̾̀̚,̛̫̩̰̇̌ͅ ̠̼͈͓̃̇̓̈́Ṃ̢̛͖͌̈́ͅà͔̱͍̻͊̎̿r͙͚̟̰̽͒̾̾v̧̝̮͕̿͌͌͐ị͎͙̮͆͛̃͘n̘̙̰͍̾̔̾̒.̝̼̫͎̄̅̓̆” Anti giggles, but he turns and places the knife on the table before he offers Marvin his hand with a lopsided smirk, “But for now, it seems we have a deal.”

Marvin slowly takes his hand and gives it a firm shake. Suddenly Anti is pulling Marvin closer to him by his arm and he whispers harshly in his ear, “But don’t think for a second it's out of the kindness of my lack of heart. I’m only doing this is get back what’s m̨͙̭̫̾̒̐̈́i͔̰͕͚̍͋̾̾n͕̞̳̠͆̅͂͂e̞͔̫̗͌̀͒͠.̺̦͕̪̎̈́̀” Marvin shivers but he nods. Anti looks like he’s going to grip harder onto Marvin’s arm to increase the threat but his arm passes through Marvin’s in a series of pixels and glitches. Marvin jumps back in surprise.

“Ah Damnit!” Anti growls as he shakes his arm and tries to get it back together.

“What the hell…?” Marvin whispers, watching as Anti’s form continues to glitch and fizzle.

Anti flashes black eyes at Marvin with a low growl, “Whatcha lookin’ at, circus freak?”

“What’s happening to you?”

The glitch gives a bitter laugh as his arm finally comes back together and he flexes it as if testing its strength, “Not all of Jack’s figments were made to exist in their own bodies. He made me to exist in his fucking head… a virus... A glitch in his computer.” Anti growls and smashes his hand against the table with another growl of anger before he lets out a breath, “I can’t exist in a solid form too far from his head without…”

“That’s why you’re only seen in videos for such a short time…Why the camera can never pick you up just right. Why no one has seen you make your own place in the city…” Marvin gasps as he pieces it together, “…Why you hate Jack…”

Anti tilts his head with a cruel smile, “Yer a smart one. He forced me to live inside his stupid head while he let all you roam free….Not exactly fair is it?”

“Well… you did try to kill him,” Marvin counters, and Anti merely shrugs and brushes past Marvin and flops onto the couch, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

“Enough fucking around, whiskers. I’m figurin’ this whole thing has a time limit so catch me up on what yer plan is.”

“Ah, right,” Marvin says shaking his head and he grabs the cards from the table and joins Anti on the couch. He takes a few minutes to catch the glitch up on who Phantom is and all he’s done in the past months before he retells the most recent bits, “Phantom stole them all earlier tonight. He can reveal their desires and has minor mind control to make deals. Once a deal is signed he has their souls… and they can’t resist his commands. He has everyone. He says if I don’t give myself up to him he’ll… he’ll kill them all. And I have no doubt he will. With his army and the others… my magic alone isn’t gonna be enough against him.”

“So what’d ya need me fer?” Anti sneers and Marvin looks conflicted, “…did you even think of a plan before you slit yer hand open to bring me here?”

Marvin stares down at his bleeding hand as if just remembering it was there. The cut is still bleeding but the blood looks almost black and Marvin swears he sees green glitches appearing around the edges. He rips a piece of his shirt sleeve and wraps it around the wound as he stammers, “I…I guess not.”

Anti huffs in condescending laughter, “yer an idiot.” He pushes off the couch and grabs the ace of diamonds, studying the address on the back. He twirls the card thoughtfully in his fingers and almost drops it as his hand glitches through it. He catches it with an annoyed grunt before he flings it at Marvin. “So, you’ve handled the guy before right?”

“Yeah… I uh… I’ve killed him before.”

Anti clicks his tongue against his cheek, “Yeah but figments aren’t so easy to kill.” Anti leans back on the couch’s arm and regards Marvin, “Think ya got the guts to kill ‘im again?”

Marvin stares shocked at Anti before staring down at his lap. Slowly, he shakes his head, a cold look on his face. “No…. killing him is too merciful.”

Anti barks out a laugh, “I like the way you think, cat mask! … Maybe you an’ me could be good partners down the road….”

Marvin gives Anti and withered look, “I don’t want to hurt people anymore, Anti. I’m not like you.”

Anti crosses his arms and shrugs, giving him a devilish grin, “Ya never know what could change.” The glitch rises back up from the couch, “So you’ve beaten him before, right? Multiple times?”

Marvin self consciously messes with his hair, “Well yeah... But the only time I’ve gotten a jump on him is... When I’ve surprised him.”

“So why not do that again?”

The magician’s eyebrows furrow together in confusion, “I can’t. He knows I’m coming.” 

Anti rolls his eyes, “Yeah but now you have me. That’ll probably get the jump on him.”

Marvin looks more confused, “The… the warehouse is on the other side of town. You just said you can’t exist long out of Jack’s-!” Marvin is cut off by Anti slamming his head against the back of the couch with a sinister grin spreading across his face.

“There’s more than one way to exist outside my host,” He cackles as he snatches Marvin’s bandaged hand and curls his fingers under the fabric. He rips it away before plunging his fingers into the wound. Marvin cries out in pain and his body seems to be consumed by the feeling of static and electricity.

“W-what are you doing?!” Marvin gasps breathlessly as spots dance in front of his eyes. The lights and electronics are going haywire in the apartment as Anti laughs madly. The glow of his unnatural green eyes is the only thing Marvin can see clearly through the madness. Marvin screams as the pain seems to collect and linger on his sliced palm. It feels like he’s being sliced open on the inside by a thousand sharp razor blades.

“Y̡̖̝̗͑̽̃̐o̟̥̫̦̒̈́͠͝ư̜̫̹̐̈́̈͜ ̧͓̳̭̈̅͂̎s̮͓̦͚̾͐̅̃a̠̦͕̅͌̈̑͜ĩ̭̥̞̇͒ͅd̪̖͉̭̐͛͝ ̜̫̮̻͗̇̎̋y̗̣̱͆̎̅͜͠o͓̝̻̅̐̈́͌ͅũ̢̡̳̬̀̌̃'͎̣͈̩́̈́̕ḑ̱̣̮͛͌͘͠ ̢̞̜͚͑̽̎͌b̻̙̟̱̏͂͝e̹͇̥͙̓̀̆͂ ̖̫̰̙͌̒͒͋w͕͔̠͇͗̊̉͝ȋ̢̲̗͔͊̕̚l̡̗̘̪̔́̀̈́l̤̱̖̘̽̃̈̋i̢̲̜̦̅̓̈́n̹̤̦̮͑̃̓̾g͕̙̘̗̏͌̓̋ ̧̡̜̲̍̿͑t̛̥͕̫̆̈̚ͅo̧͚̜͒̋̚̚͜ ̰̮̩͗̈́̎͠ͅd̰͕͈͙̄̑̚o̬̝̤̟̐̾̈́͛ ̢̥̤̘͒̎̿͝ä̛̦̰̗̹́̎̇n̞͚̳͒̆̍͜͝y͙̹̳̅̇̈́́ͅt̨͕̰̹̃̽̔̋h͍͈̰͐̅̂͌͜i̛͙̗̭͈̐̎̚n͎̼̠͎͗̈́͋̑g̬̠̗̬̐̑̚͘,̪̦̼͚͗̈́̓͘ ͈̣̯̤̽̈́͋̒M̫͇͚͓̍͂ä̛̬̻̪̹́̈͝ṟ̭̹̟͂̇̑͝v̨̳̱̇̈́̌͊͜i̤̳̝͙͋͘͝n͙̺̥̝̊̿̎͝.̼̣̖̯̍̍͑͝ ̗̜̱̬̅̃̔̚T̗̰̗̹̂̓h̲͇̙͑̂̆͜͝i̛̬̞̞͚͌̾̑s̨͓̹̯̓̈́̈́̔ ̢̫͎͇͌́̒͑ḯ̼̭̯̦̍͑̋s̝̮̳͛̐̎͜͝ ̧͚̦̖͗͘͝w̢̲̬̹̎̑͝͝ḩ͇̮̜̿̾͌͐e̛̖͙̱̣͂̆̑ŗ̠̗̥̑͑̽͝ę̩̭̝̐͒̀̊ ̨̨͙̟̿̕͠͠t̨͔̬͈͐̉̽̇h͙̤̜̞͆̄̄͠e̡̤̝̻̋́̃̈ ̧͈̺̮̎̅̽̇f̧̖̹̲̈̆͑͘ų̮̬̙͗̾͝͝n̛̲̣̬̅͑̕ͅ ̢̞̜̭̓̍̈̚ḅ̠̺͖̆̋͛͘e͖̹̲͒͋̈́̀͜g̡̞̲̜̎̄̀͝ỉ̜͚̘̲̒̕͝ñ̡̥͖̯̂̈̈́s̳͎̮̮͆͊͗͝!̪̺͔̟̉̈̐͆” Anti giggles sadistically as his voice echoes and grates the inside of Marvin’s head. He can’t think, or breathe or feel anything besides this awful sensation, of being torn open. The pressure seems to build and build until Marvin is sure he’s gonna pass out from it all.

Then, there’s one big burst of light as all the electronics fizzle and die and the room goes dark. Marvin clutches his hands to his chest as he breathes past the pain. His face is covered in tears he hadn’t realized he’d been crying. The lights slowly flicker back on and Marvin looks around to see Anti’s no longer in the room with him.

“A-Anti?” Marvin whimpers as he stiffly pulls himself up from the floor. When had he fallen down there? He shakes his head as a wave of nausea comes over him. His whole stomach turns and he lifts himself and high tails it to the bathroom. He barely is able to make it to the sink before he spews and coughs out whatever was irritating his stomach. He wipes away his mouth and shudders out a raspy breath. He blinks and stumbles back when he looks down and sees the mess is nothing but what looks like glitching black blood.

He pushes up against the wall and stares at his hand. It’s completely healed over, but the skin around the cut looks green and it too looks like it’s glitching.

Marvin is in full panic mode as he pushes back towards the sink and shoves his way towards the mirror. He shakily reaches up a hand and wipes away tears of blood leaking from his eye. His right eye, which now echoes the look of Anti’s.

 **Ah sorry, the process can have a few glitches~!** Anti’s voice echoes throughout the space and what feels like Marvin’s head. Marvin grits his teeth against the foreign feeling and shakily pushes back away from the mirror. He tries to say something in response but finds himself choking as pain erupts from his neck. He stares in horror at his reflection as a thin neck wound starts to open on his neck and begins to bleed. Exactly like Anti’s.

“W-what the hell did you do?!” Marvin coughs, and blood drips out of the side of his mouth and he shudders. His body seems to glitch slightly and Marvin’s skin crawls at the uncomfortable feeling.

 **I gave you a fighting chance, kitten whiskers.** The glitch chuckles darkly. Marvin feels something sharp in his head and a tug like he’s being pulled by a string and his whole body lurches forward so he’s staring back at his reflection in the mirror. Marvin sees his head tilt slightly in a mischievous manner as Anti’s voice seems to echo from his own, “That con man won’t even suspect what’s coming for him~!”

Marvin’s reflection grins as his eyes burn green.

An unstable laugh bubbles out of Marvin’s silt throat, making blood shoot out and splatter against the sink. Madness burns and swirls in Marvin’s stomach and his whole body feels like it’s been charged with a thousand volts of electricity. He can feel everything and it hurts.

Marvin feels his legs lurch and he’s thrown out of the bathroom and down the hall as more giggles burst out of him. He staggers like a drunk man back towards the living room, splatting against walls and nearly toppling over chairs and tables and anything else in his way. Finally, he makes it to the table and leans down over it, his whole body shaking with terrifying laughter as his body glitches green in the light.

“A-Anti-!” Marvin chokes in his own voice, but it sounds like it’s a struggle, “S-Stop this! This isn’t funny!”

Marvin’s face shifts as another crazed laugh escapes out of his lips again. His body staggers to stand up straight as Anti giggles, “Shut up kitten, let me try something!”

He shakily reaches out a hand and Marvin feels the familiar stir of magic in his gut but it feels foreign. Anti snaps their fingers and a bright green flame bursts from his fingertips, the outline of the flame glitching green and purple. Mad giggles explode out of the magician as Marvin’s eyes burst green with power.

“Oh weak little Marvin,” Anti purrs with a lopsided grin, “You’ve been keeping too much from me, puppet!”

Marvin feels sick, actively feeling Anti use his power is worse than he imagined. His whole body feels hot like he’s sick and his systems are trying to expel the glitch like a virus. Marvin lurches to the side, his knees buckling and he catches himself on the edge of the table, coughing up black blood.

“W-we can’t win like this, Anti,” Marvin wheezes, squeezing his eyes shut, “M-my body can’t h-handle-”

“Shut up kit kat. If you would stop fighting this would all be over soon!” The glitch growls.

“If we go out to the warehouse looking like this, Phantom will kill us right away and we both won’t get what we want!” Marvin shouts, gripping his stomach like he might puke again.

Marvin takes a shaky breath when Anti doesn’t answer, “We… we have to work together if this is gonna work…. You need to let me have control until the right time… then you can do whatever you want to Phantom…”

“You’ll get to have all the fun,” The glitch almost whines.

A grim smile spread across Marvin’s lips as he answers back darkly, “You’ll get to have your fun… we just need to get close to Phantom first.”

There are a few beats of silence before Marvin feels the weird string like pressure on his limbs snap and he almost sags forward to the ground, trying to catch his breath.

“Do whatever you need to quickly,” Anti speaks in Marvin’s head, “I don’t have a lot of patience.”

Marvin nods quickly, stiffly rising to his feet. He still feels weird and hot but at least his body moves when he wants it to. He scratches at his neck in discomfort, shivering at the feeling of drying blood flaking off. The magician pushes back to the room he lived in all those long weeks ago. Some of his clothes are still left in the corners and in drawers, in case Marvin needed to spend the night again after everything. He shuffles through the clothes and finds a black button-up shirt and quickly he slips it on, making sure the collar covers up his neck from sight.

He whips on his glittering cape and hesitates in front of the mirror with his mask in hand, staring at his foreign green and blue eye. He swallows before putting on his mask, checking to make sure the eye wouldn’t be obvious. If he kept his distance from Phantom until the right time, he should be okay.

Marvin staggers back into the living room and gathers up the cards, looking at each and picturing the smiling faces of his friends. He stuffs away the images of them staring at him slack and emotionless, eyes red, with a shudder.

Anti hums in his mind, but his voice comes out of Marvin’s mouth as he addresses the other figment, “Hope you’re prepared, cat mask. You can’t back out now.”

Marvin stares at his hands and watches as they glitch slightly from a small spark of magic. He glares determinedly ahead, “I’m not afraid. This ends t̺̩̝͎̿͂̿͠ơ̢̻͈̫̄͊̓ņ̤̖̟̈̾̕i̡͇͉̬̐̓͑͝ġ͈̱̫̘̓̋͘h͔̹̰̥̐̌̓̏t̨͓͕̖̂͐̚̚.̪̭̺̺̽̈́̈́͝.”


	10. Grand Finale

Marvin huddled under his cape as he made his way across the city towards the abandoned warehouse district. Anti was strangely quiet in his head, which made the whole journey even worse than Marvin thought it would be. He felt like he couldn’t think about anything at all, because who knew what Anti could hear. Thinking about nothing was hard. Marvin’s mind kept shifting back and forth between all the horrible things that could be happening to his friends. He felt the tell-tale sizzle of panic burning in his chest and he tried to breathe slowly. But the images just kept flashing and flashing, and getting worse and worse until Marvin is leaning up against a light post, chest heaving and eyes darting around spastically. He can’t breathe, this was too much, too much. There was no way he could save them, he wasn’t strong enough, he was going to fail. He was going to die. So would his friends. And it will be all his fault.

The magician wheezes and sucks in a choppy shallow breath as his panic seems to swirl out of control. He can feel magic itching to burst out of his fingertips, the ends sparking with green energy.

Then inside Marvin’s head, he feels something like a slap that clears his head for a second. Anti growls in his ears, “Whiskers, what are you doing?”

Marvin’s voice can barely rise past a whisper as he tries to answer in between shaky breaths, “A-Anti i-i can’t-!”

Marvin hears the glitch sigh before Marvin feels a tug on his legs, forcing him to stand up straight. His heart beats faster, fearing what Anti was going to make him do. But instead, the other figment just speaks.

“Ain’t no use is panicking now Marv,” He says almost gently, despite his rough voice, “You haven’t even seen what we’re up against yet. Panicking will help us none.”

Marvin tries to nod, his heart calming a bit. He focuses on breathing for a second, but it’s still erratic and sparse.

Anti is silent for a second before he groans heavily and grunts out, “Is.. isn’t there a dumb phrase Jack and that hero use all the damn time? P-positive…?”

“Positive Mental A-attitude…” Marvin finishes with a stutter. Then a fidgety smile graces his lips as he laughs, “Are you really trying to pull some PMA into here Anti?”

The glitch growls darkly, “Well it’s a stupid fucking idea. But if thinking positively will help you quit whining so we can move on, then just think happy thoughts or whatever.”

Marvin continues to laugh and soon he realizes he can breathe fine again. He looks down at his hands and tries to think about the positive. About how he’s stronger than he was last time he took Phantom on. About how his friends give him the fuel he needs to fight. How their laughter and friendship lighten his world.

“Ugh barf,” Anti groans, “Can you wrap it up now? We got a fucking job to do, kit kat.”

Marvin smirks and lets himself stand tall as he nods to Anti and finishes making their way to the warehouse.

The warehouse they’re led to is, of course, dark as they approach. Marvin pokes his head through the door and can see something through the darkness so he cautiously makes his way in. Then, lights burst forth out of nowhere, revealing a bright red decorated stage that appears in smoke. Marvin looks unimpressed.

“Really?” He calls to the air, “Is that your best entrance Phantom? I thought you were better than this clique mess!” He shoves his hand towards the stage, raising an eyebrow in question.

Then suddenly there’s a whisper at the nape of his neck as red smoke curls around his feet, “Still so easily distracted. Really Magnificent, have I taught you nothing?”

Marvin gasps and trips over his own feet and lands on his side as Phantom cackles. Marvin quickly tries to shove an elbow in his face to cover up his right eye, as if he’s preparing to block an attack. But Phantom just disappears again before he appears on the stage, sitting on the edge with a shit-eating grin.

“You sure took your sweet time coming to me, my little magician,” Phantom coos, leaning his head on his hand in a condescending manner as he twirls the scepter in his other “In fact, you took so long, I’m surprised some of your friends actually made it this far.”

Marvin jumps to his feet, his hands flaring with magic and his eyes burning cold and blue. “Where are they?!” He snarls and he feels Anti glitching in excitement for some action. But Marvin wills him to stay back.

Phantom laughs sinisterly and gets to his feet as he continues to spin his cane, “Oh they’re here. But I’m not so sure you’re prepared to see the states they’re in….” He smirks as he snaps his fingers and the stage erupts in red smoke again. Marvin covers his mouth with his elbow against the onslaught, afraid of the possibilities of it getting down his throat.

When the smoke clears Marvin sees his friends lined up on either side of Phantom, their eyes dull and stances stiff. Then almost as suddenly as they appear, Jamie crumbles to the ground in a heap and Chase falls to his knees, heaving and panting heavily. Jamie looks like a ghost with how pale he is as if he’s close to fading. Marvin can see sheens of sweat dripping down Chase’s and Jamie’s faces and even Schneep’s as he stands stoically at one end. Jackie stands at the opposite end, too still and too stiff for the hero. His red gaze burns holes straight through Marvin’s chest.

Marvin tries to spring forward to catch Jamie before he falls, but Anti quickly takes control of his legs and plants them in place. Marvin tries to fight but Anti hisses at him, telling him to wait now. Marvin feels angry tears well up in his eyes and he shouts up to his nemesis, “What the hell did you do to them?”

“Me?” Phantom asks almost innocently, “I did nothing~!” He sings and grins down at Marvin, “Well besides the obvious.” He starts to make his way around the other egos, kicking his feet and twirling his cane as his face shifts to one of mock sadness, “It just seems that some figments just can’t handle my brand of magic as well as others.”

He stops at Jameson and kicks the mute man lightly with his shoe, his expression turning cold.

“Up,” He commands and Jamie slowly struggles to get up, wanting to obey. But his body gives out and he splats back onto the stage with a pained near-silent wheeze. Phantom stares at the display dead-eyed before he eyes Marvin.

“Poor Mr. Jackson has so much potential, but not enough energy in his little body. Not enough attention, not enough power… Forcing him to use his talents brought him here.”

Next, the con man strides over to Chase, who shakes on his hands and knees as he struggles to breathe. Marvin can see the signature red glint of Phantom’s power flickering in and out of Chase’s eyes.

“Now, Mr. Brody…” Phantom says as he flicks out the tip of the blade inside his scepter and uses it to force the man’s chin up to look at him, “Despite him having no redeemable qualities or abilities… he sure can put up a fight.” Phantom withdraws the blade before he swiftly rotates the staff and slams Chase’s head with the end of the crystal ball. Chase crumbles to the floor with a strangled cry of pain.

“I suppose that’s the will of a father,” Phantom comments lightly before he starts to walk away, “But still useless.”

Then Phantom makes his way over to Henrik, smiling at him almost fondly. “And this one… was quite the fighter too. But once I found the right strings to pull... He became just the perfect little puppet.” He lifts Henrik’s chin up with the scepter as he studies his face before he smirks down at Marvin, “I believe I have another septic to thank for that, don’t I?”

Marvin glowers at Phantom, baring his teeth at the demon. But he feels something like twisted satisfaction in his head and he wishes he could glare at Anti. How dare the glitch be proud of what he did to Schneep. Marvin shudders slightly at the memory. Henrik’s cold gaze is different from the crazed expression he wore under Anti’s influence, but it’s still not the Schneeplestein he knows.

Phantom makes his rounds landing at last at Jackie and he throws his arms out triumphantly. “And at last my star, Jackieboy!” The con man circles the hero like a predator stalking his prey, “The start of this all. The one individual I knew would break you,” Phantom glances at Marvin with a knowing smirk. “Isn’t friendship just the worst, Marv? Just ruins everything. Makes you too vulnerable. Jackie here was so desperate to keep you all safe, he was dumb enough to think a deal with me wouldn’t cost him his free will.” He finally stands still by Jackie’s side and grabs the ego’s chin in his hands and tilts his head back and forth like he’s playing with a toy.

“Oh, and what fun it was to twist his memories and feelings of you. To make him reject and fear you… all so he could find a place with me.”

Finally, Phantom stops his ranting and curls both his hands around his scepter as he turns to regard the magician. “So, Magnificent, are you ready for-?”

But the con man is stopped by the sound of laughter coming from Marvin. Crazed, mad laughter that continues to bubble and rise in volume, until the cat masked man is throwing his head back. Finally, Marvin cracks his neck loudly and stares at Phantom with glowing green eyes, a hint of a slit throat rising above his shirt collar. He grins sinisterly, a grin too big and wide to be Marvin’s as his body seems to glitch in the light.

“Hate to cut you off there pal,” Marvin giggles as his hands burst with green glitching magic, “But us villains really need to learn to hold back on the monologuing, d̨̝̤͈̺̔͑̌͘o̡͖͖͙͉͒̓̑́̕ñ̩̹͙̣̱͌͊͝͠’̡͖̼͉̗̏͋̂̋͠ţ͉̯̦̜̾͗̈͆̕ ̦̣̜̪̯͒͂̈́͐̓w̡͈͎̞͕̃͑̓̔̚e̡͓͙̲͊͊̄̐̕ͅ?̨̬̼͈͙̂̋̇̎͘”̧̼̼̩̦̂͐͑̽

Phantom takes a shaky step back, his eyes displaying fear for a second.

“W-what the hell? Y-You didn’t.”

Marvin grins turns into a more mild condescending smirk as his magic builds more and more. He answers back in his own voice, “isn’t friendship just the worst Phantom? It makes you do the craziest shit.”

Then the cat masked magician disappears in a glitchy cloud of blue, green, and purple.

Phantom barely has any time to react before a flash of green eyes alerts him to a knife flying at his face. He just barely manages to throw up his scepter to block the attack and Marvin laughs crazily in his face, sending shivers down his spine. The magician glitches behind him and shoves his foot into the con man’s back and Phantom’s face skids across the stage. He spits and barks at the other septics, “Don’t just stand there! Attack!!”

Jackie flies at Marvin at super speeds and yet the magician manages to grab the hero’s fist before it hits his face. Marvin giggles as he lifts his other hand and a knife suddenly flies into Jackie’s shoulder in a burst of purple glitches. Jackie stumbles back, wincing and struggling to pull the knife back out.

Marvin throws his hand up again and four more knives appear in a blast of purple and green smoke and float in the air and the cat masked magician giggles like a child, “Oh, I like this power!”

Suddenly a hand wraps around the back of Marvin’s neck and a syringe pops out and tries to strike at his vein. But the magician poofs away and reappears so he’s facing forward and grabs the red-eyed Doctor by both his wrists. Anti chuckles darkly and tightens his hands tight around Schneep’s wrists as he leans close to his face. He cracks their neck loudly before merely whispering “B̛̹̼̣̩̱͒͒͐͠ȍ̱̦̩̼̫̏̈́̒̉o̢̖̬̤̐͋̋̽͝ͅ!̗͔̦͉̱̅̍̀͑́”

Henrik stumbles backward, his eyes wide as saucers and clear of red. He sinks to his knees and covers his head under his arms and he shakes like a leaf, mumbling spazziedly, “No no no, no no!”

Anti smirks to himself and turns back to his next victim, only to have a bullet fly and strike him in the shoulder. Marvin cries out and holds the wound. He sees amongst the blood colorful glitches that buzz around and seem to try to cover the wound. He takes a shaky breath and flashes angry eyes down at the conflicted face of Chase Brody as he stares at Marvin past his gun. The father’s hand shakes so much he nearly drops the gun. His eyes twitch as he tries to stand up. Marvin’s face shifts to one of cold disinterest as he hurls three knives straight into one of Chase’s arms and the man crumbles with a strangled cry.

Phantom continues to back up, holding his scepter close to his chest. Eyes darting around trying to think of something. Marvin chuckles darkly as he summons a green flame and lets it grow to about half his height as he gazes at the con man with crazed eyes. He staggers almost drunkenly towards Phantom, his face darkening as a sick smile spreads across his face. Phantom shudders involuntarily and he shakingly points his staff out towards the magician, pleading for one of the others to keep attacking.

Jackie staggers and tackles Marvin to the ground and the fire burning in his hand sets the stage ablaze. Marvin doesn’t seem phased however, he seems pleased as excited laughter bubbles out of his mouth. Jackie growls and tries to pin him, but Marvin manages to shove his knee into the hero’s stomach and he crumples. Marvin then leans over and grabs the hero’s wrists and heats up his hands, burning him through his jumpsuit. Jackieboy screams bloody murder and kicks out wildly. Marvin just laughs and laughs. Until suddenly, his expression falls and he scrambles away from Jackie with fear in his eyes. He heaves and stares at his hands as if they’re foreign to him.

“S-shit!” He curses quietly,” A-Anti we gotta focus on Phantom! You can’t keep hurting my friends-” Then Marvin grimaces and his eyes flash green as he growls darkly, “Quit taking my fun away, Cat Mask! I’ll still get the job done!” Marvin takes a shuddering breath and holds his hands to his chest, trying to get to his feet. He opens his mouth to argue more but he’s blasted away by a teal burst and he flies across the stage. Jamie huffs where he has weakly raised his hand and he slowly grips his fingers together into a fist, trapping the cat masked magician in a blue bubble. Tears stream down his face from the effort but the red glint in his eyes says it all.

Phantom laughs as he gets back to his feet, “Excellent job, Jameson!” The mute man gives a weak smile before his eyes roll back and his hand falls, dropping Marvin heavily to the ground. Marvin coughs as he struggles to get back up but Phantom points his scepter his way and he’s lifted into the air surrounded by red energy, his arms bound to his side.

“That was certainly entertaining, Magnificent,” Phantom muses, pushing back his disheveled hair with his free hand as his expression changes from nervous to confident. Marvin growls, his eyes flashing sickly green again as he tries to flare out his magic. But the red energy around him tightens around his throat and he chokes, letting out a strangled cry.

“Not another move,” Phantom snarls, “I’m done playing games.”

Marvin chuckles madly as he grins down at Phantom, “Aw, already? That’s such a shame… cuz I l̡̯̫͔̱̇̒̉͝ô͈̰̱̠̬͋͌̂͠v̫͍̻̱͎͒͛̓̍̈e̢̢̖̜͇̿̊̆͐͝ ̹̩͕̹̙̌̈́̈̒̕p̡͓͈̙̳͒̂̉̋͝l̡̜̟̳̆̈̇̈͜͝a̡͈͓̱͛̃͛̄̕ͅy̢͇̰͉̲̑̈̚͝͝i̬̲͓̲̠̔͑̆̾̆ņ͖͉͕̲͌͂͒̇g̢̠̲͔̓͒́̃͆ͅ ̘̥̥̱̯̋̃͋̔͘g̛̮̟̦̥̫͐̈́̑̓ã̛̼͔̦̣̹̆̕͘m̻͖͇̟̲̍̉̋̃͝e̺̹̘̩̲͒̅̆̿̓s͖̥͉̝̘͛̽͛̋̕!͖̪̠̣̫̅̂̋͝

Phantom reaches out a hand and clutches it into a fist, crushing Marvin’s windpipe more. But the masked magician continues to laugh hoarsely as his eyes glow unnaturally bright. He opens up his palms at his side and a dozen knives materialize in a series of glitches. Phantom barely has time to gasp before each knife drives itself into his body and he screams.

Marvin drops again but this time he lands on his feet like a cat. He giggles as he summons one more knife and tosses it in his hand as he surveys the carnage around him. Slowly, he strides over to Phantom and shoves his foot against the bloodied man’s chest. The con man wheezes and gazes unfocused eyes up at Marvin. Marvin smirks and throws the final knife straight into the crystal ball on his staff, shattering it into a million pieces.

The warehouse fills with the screams of Phantom and his victims as the energy bursts out of the orb. Flashes of scarlet fly into each of the other septics' chests as their eyes burn bright red before they all fall to the ground in crumpled heaps. Phantom’s screams stop as soon as their souls return to their body and he curls up on his side, pale as a ghost and wheezing.

Marvin chuckles in satisfaction as he leers over Phantom’s body. But then uncertainty crosses his face as he stares at the defeated con man.

“What are you waiting for?” Anti growls in his head, “Now’s your chance to get rid of him. Prove to him he can never mess with you and my puppets again!”

Marvin’s mouth moves but no sound comes out at first.

“I… I don’t w-want…I don’t need to kill him.”

“Stop being a fucking coward Marvin! This is why your friends always fall into danger because you never just take the fucking chance! Your hesitation will be either the death of you or of them.”

Tears well up in Marvin’s eyes as his expression turns furious. A strange feeling swirls in his stomach, one he can’t quite describe. He reaches out his hand and readies a snap down at Phantom, speaking in his own voice darkly.

“Say Goodbye, Phantom.”

He snaps, ready to blast the figment into infinity. But before he can he’s knocked off his feet and surrounded by purple mist. Marvin coughs against the smoke and tries to see through it. He sees another figment that looks like Phantom but he has dark shadows under his eyes and lines of purple that run down his face like tears. He flashes his eyes at Marvin with a look of pure hatred before he gathers up Phantom into his arms and disappears into the mist.

Marvin coughs and hacks against the smoke, trying to stagger upward to chase after him. But suddenly he’s surrounded by thick darkness, the warehouse gone. He spins, panic starting to grip his heart.

“A-Anti,” He calls out loud, “What is this?”

Marvin tries to reach out through the darkness, but he notices he can suddenly see through his hands. He gasps and stumbles backward, falling over. His legs are starting to become see-through too and he can’t help but panic now.

He was fading.

He could feel his power shrinking, threatening to shrivel up to nothing. He can barely feel his arms and legs anymore. How had he lost attention from Jack’s fans so fast?

Marvin curls up in on himself, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to breathe, but he’s shaking like a leaf.

“No no no no no no!” He stammers, feeling his magic starting to swirl out of control. But he grabs onto the power, too afraid of it leaving him. He wants it to consume him so he won’t disappear.

Anti is trying to shout at Marvin but the magician can’t hear him, “Cat Mask! Marvin! It’s just fear smoke, it’s not real!” But then Anti feels that burst of chaotic magic radiating out of Marvin- his magic reacting more than ever to his fear, and he’s alight with the energy too. It’s more powerful than anything he’s ever experienced. His body seems to growl hungrily for it.

The glitch begins to grin and laugh as he stretches out to take complete control of Marvin’s body. Marvin gasps and feels strings threaten to suffocate him as his limbs become unresponsive. But he feels his magic channeling out of him and his whole body begins to numb.

“Anti! W-What is this? What are you doing?!” He pleads.

Anti laughs madly as he feels himself rise and glitch madly with power.

“Consider this payment for my help, Kit Kat!” The demon cackles, “Who needs a useless host like Jack when I could have access to all of this?!”

The glitch lets the power rocket out across the warehouse like a sonic boom of green and purple as he throws his head back in crazed laughter.

“Y-you can’t do this!” Marvin cries, trying to do anything to get control of his body back but his limbs seem to flicker in and out of existence and he can’t concentrate on getting his power back to him.

“Aw Marv, you should be happy,” Anti purrs smoothly, “You served your purpose. You saved your friends!” He clutches his hand and revels at the feeling of having muscles that don't threaten to glitch away, “And you saved me from being trapped in that bastard’s head. You’re a true hero~!”

Anti’s laughter threatens to swallow Marvin whole as he feels himself fading away. All his power is draining away from him, he’s going to fade. He’s going to die.

Marvin bows his head and lets the fight drain out of him. There’s nothing more he can do.

Then suddenly, Anti is being thrown out of the air by a flash of red and he splats to the floor, the power sizzling and drawing back into him. He gasps and sputters as he struggles up to his arms and he sees Jackieboy standing over him, wheezing.

“I-I don’t know what the hell is happening,” The hero breathes, “But I know you when I see you, Anti.”

Anti chuckles darkly as he wipes blood away from his nose, “You’re too late Hero! Marvin is spent and his body is mine!”

A blast of teal crashes against Anti before the hero can reply. The magic surrounds Anti and shoves the glitch out of Marvin’s body in an explosion of glitches. The demon crashes against the wall and coughs, his form almost completely disintegrating. Marvin is shoved back to consciousness with a painful burst as the strings snap. He stares wide-eyed at the warehouse and shakily looks to see Jameson aiming a hand at him as he’s held up by Chase and Schneep.

Jackie flies at the glitch and slams him against the wall, growling in his face. “You best get out of here now, glitch bitch. Before I knock you into next week!”

Anti growls and flashes his eyes dangerously but another shudder sends his body glitching wildly. He gives one last glance towards the shivering magician before he lets himself dissolve into pixels.

“This isn’t over, Cat Mask.” The glitch’s voice echoes creepily throughout the warehouse. Marvin shivers more and one final whisper slithers into his ear, “See you s͕̣͈̗͛̔͒̎͠ͅo̝̟̘̟͙̾̽̉̑͝o̧̧͉̫͕̅̽̇͊͑n̩͉͉͎͋̾̓̊̚ͅ.”

Finally, dark energy that seemed to fill the warehouse lifts as the glitch disappears completely. Marvin sags to the ground, gasping. He tries to force something out to his friends but he can’t speak past his still slit throat, the pain suddenly becoming unbearable. All he can see is their concerned faces as the world fades to black.


	11. Epilogue

It’s nearly silent besides a slight ringing in his ears as Marvin slowly tries to open his eyes. The world is a blur of colors and shapes as Marvin tries to focus. But he thinks he sees several heads of green hair in front of his eyes. He feels a tired smile grace his lips as he sleepily slurs, “H-hey guys…” His throat feels so tight and he shakily feels up to his neck and feels stitches and bandages. Then everything comes rushing back.

Flashes of glitching and black blood and laughter. The feeling of suffocating and strings holding him down. The feeling of fading out of existence.

The magician feels that strange chaotic magic he wasn’t used to swirling through his veins and everything feels like it’s on fire. He can’t breathe, he can’t breathe! Everything feels like it's dissolving into glitches and static and Marvin feels like he’s going to be swallowed whole.

The ringing fades to the sound of a heart monitor going crazy. The world snaps back into focus as Marvin feels two hands on either one of his wrists. He can see several medical equipment floating in the air, trapped in his magic as well as a terrified looking Chase Brody. Marvin gasps and his eyes flash blue, gently lowering Chase to the floor and letting the other equipment fall. He tries to slow his breathing down as he takes back in his surroundings. He’s in a hospital room and he sees Jameson lying asleep on the other side of the room. Several chairs in front of his bed have been tossed over as if the occupants had gotten up in a rush.

Marvin cautiously looks to the side where his wrists are still being held down. Henrik holds down his right wrist, large bags under his eyes and he stares at Marvin as if he’s terrified of what he’ll say. He feels the doctor’s grip shaking on his arm and guilt stirs in the magician’s stomach. On the other side, he sees Jackie, his shoulder bandaged as well as his wrists, and Marvin can see burn marks crawling up his arms from where his jacket has been pushed up to his elbows.

Slowly, Marvin’s breathing evens, and the heart monitor quiets to a normal drone. He shuts his eyes for a second, trying to process everything.

Jackie finally speaks quietly, “You… you okay now?” Marvin doesn’t respond for a second but he slowly gives Jackie a nod. Henrik and Jackie let go of his wrists and Marvin sags into the pillows on his bed.

Then suddenly a powerful slap cracks against Marvin’s cheek and the sound echoes throughout the space as Marvin’s head snaps to the side. Jackie breathes heavily after his hit lands and he balls up his hands into fists.

“What the fucking hell were you thinking?!” The hero yells in rage, his body shaking. Henrik swallows, “J-Jackie you shouldn’t-!”

Marvin doesn’t answer for a couple of beats before he glares back at Jackie and growls low in his throat, his eyes flashing green for just a second. But then he sees the fear in Jackie’s eyes and his face falls.

Anger still burns in his throat though and he snaps out weakly, “I saved you all. Or did you not want me to?”

Jackie’s mouth opens and closes as he struggles to think of an answer, then he slams his fist on the end of Marvin’s bed. “Damnit Marv! You know what I mean! How could you even think that asking Anti for help was a good idea?! How could you trust him after all he’s done?!”

The green-haired magician stares at his hands and struggles to come up with an answer. Tears threaten to fall out of his eyes as he stays silent. Jackie’s anger only grows.

“Did you forget what he did to Schneep? That he took Jamie’s voice and nearly killed him? What he’s done to Chase?!”

Marvin clenches his hands into fists and chokes out brokenly,” Shut up! I know!” He starts to sob, his shoulders shaking, “I-i didn’t know what else to do!”

The room becomes silent once again except for Marvin’s broken and raspy sobs. Chase slowly gets up and brushes past the still bristling Jackie and goes to grab Marvin’s hand in a comforting grip. Marvin shocks backward and stares at him, but Chase just offers him an understanding smile.

“Hey, it’s okay. Everything is okay now…” Chase gives a pointed glare to Jackie behind him and the hero huffs and crosses his arms, looking away.

“Except for the fact that Anti almost killed him,” Jackie mutters and Chase gives him a stern snort to silence him.

Marvin sniffles and rubs under his nose, his voice becoming distant,” I-i wouldn’t have cared. If Anti killed me. I was going to do anything to save you guys… even if I…”

“You can’t think like that!” Jackie screams, slamming his hand against the wall and leaving a sizeable dent in the plaster, his eyes flowing with power.

“Jackie stop!” Henrik yells despite how tired he looks. He pushes back his hair with a heavy sigh before he speaks down to Marvin, “I believe what Jackie is trying to say is… you should not be so careless about your own safety… we all care very much about you, Marvin. We would all be devastated if anything happened to you.”

Marvin swallows as fresh tears fall down his face. He can’t think of anything else to say. He feels so tired.

“Can’t we talk about this some other time?” Chase offers gently, giving Marvin’s hand a gentle squeeze. Henrik sighs and nods, “Yeah we should let him get some rest…”

Jackie doesn’t say anything as he stomps out of the room and slams the door behind him. Marvin winces at the sound and shrinks in on himself.

“Give him some time Marv,” Chase encourages. Marvin nods and lets go of Chase’s hand, letting himself sink back into the bed. Doctor Schneep and Chase give him one last look before they head out of the room too, leaving Jamie resting in the corner and Marvin alone with his thoughts.

\------

It’s weeks later now. But everything still feels wrong. Marvin's hand shakes as he stares at his contacts on his phone, willing himself to send a message. He feels like he’s losing his mind. He hears Anti’s laughter in his ears constantly and his vision often blurs into green and purple glitches. But, he’s not sure if it’s actually happening or he’s just going crazy. Schneep said those were normal consequences of being possessed by the glitch and he knows from experience.

But Marvin doesn’t want to be alone anymore. He can’t stand it. But he hasn’t heard from Jackie since he stormed away. His angry glare haunts Marvin’s thoughts. And Chase and Schneep helped him as he and Jamie recovered but he hasn’t heard from any of the three since he got back. He can still see the fear in their eyes when they stared at him.

Marvin clenches his teeth and grips his phone a little too strongly. He throws his phone against the mirror on his mantle, watching as it shatters in a burst of blue and green sparks. Marvin breathes and stares at his hand, unaware of the fact that he tried to use his power. He hears the phone buzz with static as it sparks on the ground. Marvin throws the lingering magic at the wall as he faces away from the phone, just trying to get the horrible feeling in his body out.

“Didn’t your mommy teach you to be nice to your toys, Kitten?” A smooth voice whispers in his ear. Marvin gasps and bursts out a blue flame at the voice and sees his hands fly through the glitching body of Anti.

Anti giggles and tilts his head, “Did you miss me?”

Marvin stumbles and leans against his wall, breathing getting erratic. “W-what are you doing here?’

The glitch chuckles and gives the magician a terrifying smile, “I’ve come to make good on that deal of ours, Marvin.”

Marvin tries to open his mouth to reply but Anti cuts him off by throwing his hand up and opening up what looks like a door made of glitches behind him. He reaches in and grabs something and throws it heavily against the floor. Marvin gasps in horror.

Jack lays still on the floor, his eyes open and dripping blood, yet he seems almost like he’s asleep.

Anti giggles madly as he strides forward and steps over Jack’s body.

“I need you to help me keep a certain someone asleep.”

To be continued in... Curosity Killed the Cat!


End file.
